In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart
by An End Has A Start
Summary: They’re from two different worlds but are brought together by a school exchange program. Three months at his school, three months at hers. They’re fighting each other and temptation. All Human. ExB
1. Chapter 1: On My Way To Hell

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter One: On My Way To Hell**

_Edward's POV_

I live the life of the high and mighty. My father is the Duke of Cambridge and my mother the Duchess. That gave me the title of Marquess of Cambridge and my sister Lady of Cambridge. We are deemed royalty because that is in fact what we are.

My life has been planned since birth and there is nothing I can do about it. I'm expected to graduate high school, go to university, get married- before or after university- it's up to me, have children, then eventually take over as Duke of Cambridge from my father Carlisle.

Unfortunately that's not what I want anymore. I want _her._

Isabella Marie Swan

Six months ago Alice, my sister, dragged me into the school's annual exchange program. Basically I spend three months at their school and they spend three months in mine. Alice signed us up together and we were gladly accepted, like they would turn us down.

In our school we are at the top of the social ladder, simply because of whom our parents are and the titles we hold.

Anyway, six months ago I met Bella and from then on I've been denying any sort of feelings for her. Until now.

My father has gone ahead and found me a bride. Nice girl, daughter of a Duke so we're a perfect match, on paper. I've met her twice and can't see myself marrying her. Instead I see myself married to Bella. The girl who drove me crazy with desire. The girl who fought me at every corner. The girl who hid all emotion right up until breaking point. The girl who gave me one chance to prove myself.

Now, the clock is ticking. Six months is winding down, my father will go ahead with the arranged wedding without a proper reason not to and Bella's going to leave soon.

The main problem is she doesn't know how I feel about her.

We fight like cat and dog and I'm not even sure if she likes me. Alice insists she does but I think she's just trying to comfort me and my foolishness.

Bella and I are from two different worlds. We don't belong in each other's as we've discovered. She was ridiculed at every turn for being 'common' and I was met with hostility for being 'a stuck up rich boy'. The chances of survival for us are slim but I still want to try.

Only thing is, how do I tell her that?

**Six Months And One Week Before**

I woke up to the house staff knocking on my door. That told me it was five thirty. I rolled out of bed and stretched, taking in my bedroom. All I can remember from last night is being behind on homework, drinking lots of coffee then playing video games until two in the morning with some friends.

School starts at eight o'clock sharp which means I have to leave the house at seven o'clock. That gives me an hour and a half to get ready. I walked across the floor and headed into the bathroom for my morning shower. Glancing in the mirror confirmed that I had very little sleep last night, purple bruising below my eyes was the dead giveaway.

After showering and dressing I went downstairs for breakfast, no doubt there would be some elaborate spread out but we would only eat a fifth of it. When I entered the dining room my father was sitting at one end of the table and my mother at the other.

The table itself seemed completely pointless to me. We could seat twenty people yet only four of us live here. There is a more practical table next door in the kitchen but my parents don't like to be amongst the staff whilst they cook.

I sat down sighing. It's going to be another day in my boring life. Alice was smiling cheerily at me across the table, a smile I did not return. I can tell she's up to something, it's only six o'clock and she's got something planned. No doubt it's going to something I will hate or I'll get annoyed at.

"Cheer up brother, it's a nice day." She sang I glanced up from the plate that was placed in front of me to see her smile again.

"Why are you in such a good mood anyway? Jasper stay over?" That caught her attention, and our parents. Alice kicked me fiercely under the table as she tried to look composed.

"Was Jasper here last night dear?" My mother Esme asked her.

"No he went home after practicing with Edward. I didn't see much of him last night-"

"Unlike the other nights where she sees _all_ of him." I muttered, receiving another kick.

"He's a nice young man. Nice parents. Lovely sister. Perhaps you should take her out Edward." My father suggested.

"I don't think that would be appropriate father. Rosalie is currently seeing Emmett, one of my best friends."

"Oh yes. I believe you told me that before."

"I did."

"So you're not currently seeing anyone?"

"No father." We had this conversation every morning. I know my parents care about me but sometimes it seems that my father cares more about me getting married and having kids than being happy.

"Well there is still plenty of time. No need to worry Edward." He told me, returning to his breakfast and newspapers.

"I'm not worried." But of course this was ignored as he had become bored with the conversation. "I better get going." I said standing up. There was no point sitting here. I'm likely to lose my temper with someone and I don't need that right now.

"But Edward you barely ate anything." Esme pointed out in her motherly tone, the one that's caring but firm at the same time.

"I'm not hungry." I excused myself from the room and headed back upstairs to my bedroom. Alice caught up with me on the stairs.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked, linking her arm through mine and leading me towards her room.

"Nothing. I'm just tired." I said nonchalantly.

"I can see that." She said gently touching the skin below my eyes. "Want to talk about what's bothering you?"

"That's the thing. Nothing is bothering me. I'm fine. I just...don't sleep." She nodded and kissed me cheek then pranced into her room. I stood in the doorframe watching as she gathered her things up.

We would leave in about ten minutes therefore giving us enough time to get our things at school and meet up with everyone. Alice would use the time to catch up with Jasper, her boyfriend and one of my best friends, whilst I would sit back idly and watch the morning proceedings.

"Get your things; I'll meet you at the car."

"Who's driving?" I asked as she pushed me towards my room.

"The driver. Who else?" Alice said it like I was stupid giving me one of those looks too.

"I thought maybe we would be allowed to drive our cars."

"Nope. Parentals are keeping a tight leash on the keys." I grabbed my belongings and dashed into the bathroom to clean my teeth as Alice continued to talk. "They don't want us getting in an accident since they know how much we love to drive fast. But it's not like we've ever been in an accident before so they have nothing to worry about."

"Do you want to drive today?" I asked coming out the bathroom.

"Well...yeah." I opened my desk drawer and threw a set of keys at her. "What are these?"

"Spare keys-"

"To the?"

"Porsche" She squealed and practically knocked me to the floor with her hug.

"How did you get these?" I put my hands over my ears.

"Take it down a bit I'm pretty sure only dogs can hear you." She playfully pushed me as we headed down the back stairs to the garage.

"But how did you get these? I thought they had all the copies."

"They did. I found them in the study and thought they'd come in handy." She smiled at me as we got in the car.

This was her favourite out of all the cars we owned. She's like a speed demon, way worse than me. Before I had even put my seatbelt on we were away. She had revved the engine and raced out across the courtyard and onto the road out of the estate.

It usually takes us an hour to get to school but Alice had us there in twenty five minutes. The smile plastered on her face when we pulled in to the parking lot was priceless. She only ever smiles like that for two reasons, driving like she just did or partaking in activities with Jasper that a brother really shouldn't know about.

"Thank you Eddie!" She chimed as I got out and headed into the main building.

"Where's Alice?" Jasper asked as I walked up the stairs.

"Outside, she's got the Porsche so you might not see her a lot today." He smirked and jogged away.

I went to the private common room on the third floor to collect my books. This school prides itself on its royal students that it gives anyone with a worthy title access into the common room on the top floor, segregating us from everyone else. The privileges are that you can leave anything in here and no one will take it, if they were caught it would be disastrous for their family's reputation.

Baron Fitzroy, the headmaster was watching everyone carefully. He was looking for someone and that someone turned out to be me.

"Good morning The Most Honourable The Marquess of Cambridge-"Can you believe that is my title? "-I wanted to tell you that you have been accepted for the student exchange program. You and your sister, Lady Alice Cullen, will both be going on the exchange. I believe you will be staying at a female student's house for three months then she will stay at your lovely home for three months, all the while attending each other's school. I'm so proud to have two of my best students embarking on this brave adventure."

The way this guy is going on is making me think that the school we're meant to be going to is in the middle of the Sahara desert not a three hours drive away. But still, he must have the wrong guy because I never signed up to be part of the exchange program.

"I'm sorry Baron Fitzroy but I did not sign up-"

"I'm so glad that we can go. Thanks for getting back to us so soon." Alice said, suddenly appearing next to me. "When do we leave?"

"In one week. I hope you two have a lovely time. The details have been dropped off at your home for your parents to review. Any problems have them give me a call." With that he left. I turned to Alice who was smiling innocently at me.

"What did you do?" I asked between gritted teeth.

"I just...well I thought it would be a good idea to broaden our circles and meet new people. You especially need to meet new people Eddie, you're all alone."

"And I like it that way."

"Oh stop being a bore. We're leaving in a week and there is nothing you can do about it so just deal with it." She was acting sisterly again and taking charge of the situation.

"But I don't want to go." That made me sound like a petulant child giving Alice a good laugh.

"Oh shut it Eddie." I'll have to speak to my parents and convince them this is a bad idea.

**A Week Later**

"Now you two be good. Don't give Mr Swan any trouble. Alice look after your brother and Edward look after your sister. Be good my children." Esme said as she pulled us into a hug and kissed us both goodbye.

Carlisle hugged Alice and shook my hand before helping us load the car. I tried all week to convince them it was a bad idea for me to go, bad for my studies, bad for my music, bad for my social life, but they were resilient and thought Alice was a genius for doing this. Remind me to get revenge on my lovely pixie like sister.

I got in the car and the driver pulled away from the house. We would be driving for three hours but if Alice or I were driving we could get there in two. Unfortunately our parents still have the car keys and it's not like we could make a sneaky get away after saying goodbye.

"Where to?" The driver asked once we were out of the estate.

"Hell." I said grumpily. Alice swatted my arm and gave him the correct directions.

"Relax, for all you know you might surprise everyone and enjoy yourself or meet someone."

How unlikely.


	2. Chapter 2: Show Off

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Two: Show Off**

**January 8th**

**5 Months 3 Weeks & 6 days Left**

_Alice's POV_

Edward was being a royal pain in the ass the whole car ride up here. I felt like leaving him at the rest stop two miles back and making him walk the rest of the way. I don't think realisation actually hit him that he was going to go on this exchange until we had left.

At first he remained quiet and sulked, then he decided to get angry and berate me about signing him up, and finally he threw a complete hissy fit and it now sulking. I feel sorry for the poor soul who's going to be hosting us.

I know from firsthand experience that Edward can be rude when he wants and I have a funny feeling he's going to turn into the complete snob he is once we arrive. Things are obviously going to be different here, that's why the school offered the exchange.

We may not be travelling that far away but the school and life we're entering are going to be really different. For starters we're not attending a private school, I'm not sure if my brother knows that yet, I have nothing against going to a state school but he might. Then our living conditions will be rather different to what we're used to.

The family is not poor and in squalor but they are not as wealthy as us, and I 'm glad, I want a break from all that every now and then. It gets rather stuffy trying to live the life of a perfectionist. Sometimes I just want to let loose and relax but in normal standards that would be regarded as unladylike and ungraceful.

The car finally pulled up in a suburban street. The houses were of adequate taste and they looked rather pretty, much cosier looking than that ghastly castle we live in. The sneer across Eddie's face told me he was not happy and I felt truly sorry for the young girl heading towards the car to greet us.

I stepped out and walked round to introduce myself as Edward brushed the creases out of his pants. He hadn't noticed the girl before us and I doubt he would. She was pretty but hid it well, give me a few months and I'll change that. She was nervous, that much was obvious, and I realised this must be totally uncomfortable for her as no one has said anything.

"Hi, I'm Alice Cullen. You must be Isabella Swan." I said cheerfully reaching out to shake her hand, I would have given her a hug but I thought that it was too soon and I might have scared her more.

"Hi, you can call me Bella." She said politely then looked at Edward. At this point I thought he would have introduced himself but he was staring at the house behind her.

"You'll have to excuse my brother Edward he's tired from the journey." I said. He finally caught on that I had introduced him and he just nodded then turned away to get the bags from the driver. "Sorry about him."

"It's fine. Do you two want to come inside?"

"No we'll just stand on the street." I heard Edward mutter, Bella missed it, thank God.

"That would be lovely thanks." She helped us carry in our luggage and took it upstairs to the guest bedrooms as we freshened up before we would head off to school for afternoon lessons.

"Be nice, she's done nothing wrong." I warned him as he took in her home.

The house was actually very nice on the inside, to Edward's surprise. I think he thought we would be living in slums from the way he was raving about how ridiculous and dangerous this exchange is. From what I could see, the lounge was off to the side after entering the hall from the main door and it led on to a dining room at the back of the house which was open plan with the kitchen.

Everything was warm and comfortable, unlike our home where it felt cold and impersonal. Pictures and photos lined the back wall, ranging from Bella as a baby straight up until very recent, quite a few had her with some kind of injury in them.

Bella came back shortly afterwards and we were dropped off at her school by the driver, that would be our last journey with him for three months. I wasn't bothered much but Edward wasn't happy. In the car I sat in the back with Bella and Edward was in the front.

He wasn't saying anything and being completely unresponsive when Bella or I asked him any questions so we just decided to stop talking to him. We chatted about the usual things, shopping, school, music, friends etc. and managed to fill the silence until we arrived.

The sneer and look of disapproval on Edward's face was far worse this time. Bella noticed aswell and bit her lip nervously. He's making this impossible for her and I was starting to get annoyed. He was being the snob I always feared he would become and I know for a fact that his attitude will not go down very well here.

From the second we entered the school we had nearly every pair of eyes on us. Edward ignored it but I was a little more self-conscious of it. Bella escorted us to the main office to pick up our timetable them walked us, with the headmaster, to our first class of the day. Since it was after lunch we only had another two hours but it seemed wiser to come to school today and start the whispering and gossip than wait until tomorrow to experience a full day of it.

"It's an honour to have you both here. If you need anything at all please don't hesitate to ask. We'll do whatever we can to accommodate you. Now I know you two hold very prestigious titles and I was curious about how I refer to you. How would you like to be introduced?"

"Our titles are in place therefore we must be introduced with the correct usage of it." The headmaster nodded, Eddie had already found a great disliking in him.

I personally hated having my title as I always felt like it segregated me from everyone else. I will never just be Miss or Mrs, not even when I marry. Nope, I'll always have a title and so will Edward. He likes his though, only because it makes him more distinguished.

"Right well I'll try my best, shall we?" We entered the classroom and I dreaded it. These had to be some of the most hated looks I've received to date. "Class I want to introduce the two new exchange students. We have Lady Alice Cullen and The Most Honourable The Marquees of Cambridge Edward Cullen."

With that Edward nodded and smiled at the room. Nearly all the girls swooned at that moment, my brother has charm, there's no doubt about that. The only girl who didn't look like she wanted to jump him was Bella. This girl is pleasantly surprising me.

Of course with Edward practically charming the pants off most of the girls in the room with his smile the guys in the room felt this as a threat. They did not look pleased. I can just tell there's going to be problems.

We sat down and tried to watch daily class proceedings. Once the headmaster saw us settled he left then the teacher pounced. Edward and I were the only two in the back row and every time the teacher asked a question he would pick one of us. We didn't have our hands up but had to answer anyway.

It now looked like we were showing off. And of course matters were not helped when we got every question right. Edward only made things worse by correcting the teacher aswell. We are defiantly far away from home.

For the last lesson of the day we had P.E. For some reason Bella was dreading it but I don't really know why. P.E. is fine if you just let the sporty people take over.

The female coach gathered us round and told us we would be doing athletics outside on the pitch. We were going to be put in groups but luckily she allowed us to pick who we wanted. Therefore Edward and I were with Bella and a group of her friends. They all introduced themselves when they came over.

There were nine of us in total, Edward, Bella and myself, a really tall guy named Jacob, two girls who got on my nerves instantly- Jessica and Lauren, one of Bella's close friends Angela, her boyfriend Ben and a guy called Mike who was glaring at Edward for no apparent reason.

To get us warmed up we all had to do two laps of the pitch then some stretches. The entire class huddled round for the first event. Each group was competing against each other. For every event a team member had to compete and whoever wins gains points. The team with the most points at the end of the lesson gets to leave ten minutes early and doesn't have to clean up any equipment.

According to Bella, the reason most want to leave ten minutes early is because the coach likes to do intense sprinting and exercise that leave your muscles aching for days. Even the lazy students try hard to win as they don't want to stay for those activities.

First up was sprinting. We all gathered round in our group and looked to see who would do it. I knew secretly that Edward would love this but he's probably not going to say anything. I stood next to him and gently nudged his arm when they were about to pick.

"I can do it if no one wants to do." Jacob suggested.

"So yeah, Jake you'll do it?" Ben said. I knocked Edward's ribs this time, and rather hard, causing him to cough and interrupting them. "Yeah?" They all looked at him to speak.

"If you don't have any problems, would you mind if I gave it a go?" He asked politely. They all looked between them then shrugged and nodded. The coach called the runners to the line and before she blew her whistle Edward winked at me.

"Oh my god did you see that Jessica? He just winked at me. Oh wow!" I heard Lauren squeal. Bella started sniggering and I noticed she was laughing at them, clearly she knows that he did not wink at her.

When the race started Edward didn't move. The other runners were sprinting there fastest and half the guys in our team were screaming at him to go. He looked at me and I nodded my head. That was it, he was off. It was a two hundred meter race and he gave them about a seventy five meter head start.

He still won though.

Half the guys had no idea what had just happened. They thought he wasn't running before he raced passed them. Just like usual, Edward was showing off and loving it. He takes pride in his sport and likes to make the most mundane things challenging. He realised a few years ago that he could beat most people with up to a one hundred meter head start so now every time he races he gives them a head start. That way he doesn't embarrass them too much, well that's his excuse anyway.

When he crossed the line and won he didn't look out of breath. Our team cheered for his victory, they were now ahead. Most of the girls started swooning over him again. He was turning the charm on and being Edward the athlete.

"He likes attention." Bella mumbled, not impressed with his antics.

"You have no idea." I said shaking my head.

Our team did win that afternoon. Since there wasn't a rule saying you couldn't use the same person for each race Edward did them all. Lauren and Jessica were practically drooling over him after that. He's been here less than three hours and already he's found a group of girls ready to join the 'I Love Edward Cullen Clan'.

"He do that a lot?" A voice asked as I walked out of the changing rooms, Bella was leaning against the wall watching her fellow students hit on my brother.

"Yep. You'll get used to it with us staying here."

"Don't you find it really irritating, him showing off like that?"

"Yeah but what can I do? He won't change." She nodded and we glanced and each other. "He's going to be rude to you for no reason and I want to apologise beforehand. Edward's used to living the life of luxuries and anything he's ever wanted has been handed to him on a silver plate so don't take it personal if he acts like a snob. Just come tell me and I'll put him in his place." She smiled and we walked over to where he was.

"A few words of advice for him."

"Go ahead." I said smiling.

"Tell him to stop showing off to the girls who have boyfriends, they won't take kindly to it." Fair point.

"Thanks, hopefully I'll save him a few bruises." She smiled back and we collected Edward from the fan girls who were already obsessed with him.

Bella walked a few feet in front as I hung back with Edward.

"She doesn't like me, does she?" He asked looking at her.

"Nope." Said shaking my head.

"Oh well good start huh?" I nodded and walked faster to catch up with her. If I'm not mistaken, I think he sounded rather disappointed that she doesn't like him.


	3. Chapter 3: Evening Dinner

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Three: Evening Dinner**

**January 8th**

**5 Months 3 Weeks & 6 Days Left**

_Bella's POV_

I was at the point of thinking my day couldn't get worse when I realised I would have to introduce my father to Edward and Alice. I have no worries about Alice but I have a funny feeling my father isn't going to take too kindly to Edward.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I sighed up for this exchange program. The school said that all I had to do was host some students for three months then they would host me for three months. Considering they only live three hours away I managed to convince Charlie, my father, that it could be a great opportunity.

Until I met him.

Edward Anthony Masen Cullen

His first impression when he arrived was one of distaste. All he had done was step out of the car and already he looked horrified at where he was going to be staying for the next three months. That got me a little riled up but his sister Alice was very nice and kind, showing no sign of loathsome for me or my home.

When they stepped out of the car I immediately felt out of my depth. He was...well...unbelievably beautiful, I know guys don't like to be described like that but that's exactly what he is, beautiful. Unfortunately his personality isn't as pretty as his looks. Alice was very pretty aswell and from their attire I could see they were definitely well off.

Money is not an issue for me or Charlie, we get by just fine. But seeing them made me think that their combined wardrobes are probably worth more than my entire house and belongings put together.

I've never had an issue with rich or wealthy people, what's there to have an issue with? They're lucky and have money but it's not everything. The only people I do have a problem with are the ones that are rich and think they are better than everyone else. And I just happen to be hosting one of them.

If Alice wasn't here to keep Edward in line I think he would have took off before getting out of the car. But why would he sign up to come on this exchange if he was just going to be rude the entire time?

At school he was showing off and that annoyed me. I don't want the attention for myself, no thank you; I like to stay away from the limelight. It just seemed as though he was trying to pick a fight. The girls were clearly impressed with him and his perfect crooked smile, his auburn hair that was in casual disarray but looked great, and his well toned physique but their boyfriends were not happy.

There are bound to be a few punches throw because of him. It didn't help that he showed off in P.E. either. All that showed them was that he's the new guy with looks that could kill, endless amounts of money, a brain to go with that pretty face, and he's great at sports. It's like he's challenging them.

I managed to get them both home in one piece which was good. Alice spoke to me the entire way home whereas Edward just moped behind us. I'm so grateful she's here; she seems like a really friendly and kind person, a complete contrast to her brother. I wonder if they're really related since they're so different. Their matching perfect looks tell me otherwise. They were just exceeding lucky in the gene pool.

Once we were home that was another issue. What was I meant to do with them? Charlie was going to be home at six thirty and I usually have dinner ready at six forty so at six o'clock I'm going to have to start preparing dinner. That meant that I had to find something for the three of us to do for the next hour.

I managed to fill in ten minutes showing them where they would be staying and giving them a brief tour. As the house isn't that big it took about three minutes to show them every room. Edward disappeared to his room after that and Alice and I headed down stairs.

"Don't take his attitude personal. He likes being alone." She told me as I busied myself in the kitchen.

"If he likes being alone why did he sign up for this exchange?"

"He didn't sign himself up. I signed him up." She was smiling and started shaking her head. "He keeps to himself and is very reserved. It's like he lives in his own bubble. So much is expected of him and he hates it but will never admit it. I thought him coming on this exchange would help break out of the bubble he lives in but at the moment it's just pushed him in further. I know my brother is not the kindest person but he does have a sweet side to him, you just have to stick around long enough to see it. Hopefully you will get to know the real Edward."

"So he doesn't want to be here?" Alice shook her head and took a seat at the table.

"No. If he had it his way we would be back at home right now. I would probably be out with friends and he would be cooped away in his room listening to music or in the drawing room playing the piano. Edward is old fashioned. You'll learn that quickly about him. His life has been planned since birth and this exchange was a part of that plan. To him this a useless experience because he has nothing to gain from it. It's not going to change the course of his life therefore he doesn't see the point. Just give him time though, I'm sure he'll come round."

"How much time because my father gets home in about forty minutes and I don't think him and Edward are going to be a great match." She smirked and stood up to help me prepare dinner. For some reason I didn't expect her to be hands on in the kitchen.

"Edward will be nothing but polite to your father. When we were younger we were taught how to be polite and act appropriate. Edward aced it and knows what he's doing. Do you really think he could be anything but gentlemanly?"

"From first opinions of him I would say he could probably do some work on how to be polite. Or at least how to mask his true feelings, especially if they are of distaste."

"I'll tell him."

"There's no need." Both of us whirled round to see Edward standing in the doorframe. He had a coy smile on his face and didn't look angry that we were talking about him. "I came to see if you wanted any help."

"Oh thanks but its okay."

"I insist." With that he walked over to the counter where I was about to start chopping up some vegetables. It shocked me a little how eager he was to help. Maybe he's not so bad after all.

We worked in silence to prepare dinner. The only time we spoke was when one of them asked what they wanted me to do with some of the food. Due to their help we were ahead of schedule therefore I put the oven on a lower temperature, giving it longer to cook.

By the time Charlie arrived home the table was set and the food was ready. He introduced himself to Edward and Alice then they disappeared to go and freshen up.

"How's everything going?" My dad asked as I brought the plates out.

"So far so good. Alice is nice and chatty."

"And Edward?" He eyed me suspiciously

"Is fine." I said using my brush off voice. It would be better if Charlie just didn't know of Edwards's snobbery side.

"He's a good looking young man." He was waiting for a reaction.

"Really, I haven't noticed."

"Bella." It was his warning tone. In all my seventeen years I've never broken curfew, never come home drunk, never done drugs, never been caught doing anything illegal and have never had a boyfriend. But here Charlie is thinking I'm going to get promiscuous with a guy I met less than twelve hours ago.

The conversation was cut short when they returned for dinner. We all sat down at the table and started our meal.

"So Mr Swan, if you don't mind me asking what is it that you do for a living?" Edward asked politely, trying to start a conversation rather than sitting in silence.

"I work at the police station." My father answered, uninterested with the topic choice.

"Oh how nice. Do you enjoy it?" Edward wasn't trying to sound condescending or patronising but it just came out that way. Charlie glared at him a little before answering.

"It's fine. What is it that your parents do?"

"To keep it simple because the process is exceedingly complicated, they own land and that land turns a profit every year. But among that they work for charity organisations and they have roles amongst the government. I believe at the moment our father is working to get a seat in the House of Lords. That is all I really know though."

"How much land do they own? Are we talking a couple of acres or large areas of land?"

"It's about 100,000 acres." My father dropped his fork and looked at him like he was kidding.

"One hundred thousand?"

"Yes." Edward said nodding.

"And you two are going to inherit that?" Charlie asked picking up his fork again.

"I'm not." Alice said. "Only Edward is eligible to inherit the land due to his title."

"Which is?"

"Marquees of Cambridge." My father nodded then shook his head. I think this was all too much for him to take. They live a very exclusive life, one my father and I will never be able to grasp.

"You have a lovely home." Alice said after a few minutes of silence.

"You're just trying to be polite now." She smiled and shook her head.

"I personally feel so much more comfortable here than at our home. It's cold, impersonal and too big for my liking. It also draws attention to who we are."

"You don't like that?" I asked

"No."

"What about you Edward?" Let's see if he's going to be honest.

"I rather like our home."

"And the attention?" I prompted

"Yes that too." At least he didn't lie.

Charlie kept quiet the rest of the meal but I don't think he really liked Edward much. Alice and he seemed fine together. After whilst we were cleaning up Charlie was having an animated conversation to her about god only knows what. I was washing and drying dishes with Edwards help so was out of earshot.

Just like earlier Edward retired to his room for the evening but Alice and I stayed up talking. She went through all my photo albums asking me who everyone was. Then when we had done that she went through my wardrobe, it was then that she decided that she was going to take me shopping. I was not looking forward to that outing.

Around eleven o'clock Alice decided to call it a night. I hate to say I was a little relieved; I was having trouble keeping up with her bubbly attitude and everything going at a million miles an hour. Since everyone at that point was in bed I decided I should do the same.

Sleep didn't come easy and it didn't last long. I awoke at one in the morning and tossed and turned. I could hear two people talking next door. The walls aren't thick and in the dead silence of night I could make out every word they were saying.

"You had no right to do that Alice."

"Oh and why not?"

"Just because you were not happy with how I was acting does not mean you have to tattle on me to mommy."

"Oh grow up Edward. You were being rude and impolite. Therefore I called our mother and told her to sort you out. Bella did nothing wrong but you were being rude to her anyway. Just because someone doesn't have the same status or wealth as us does not make them less worthy or haven't you realised that."

"Alice you don't understand. I don't get on well with people and it's not helped when I don't want to get to know them. This was just probable cause."

"But it worked. I called Esme, she sorted you out and I'll do it again if I think you're going to behave like that again. It's embarrassing. Now why don't you get some sleep? We have school again in the morning."

"Oh joy, state education."

"Stop being a snob Edward it's not very gentlemanly of you." His bedroom door shut and I heard Alice return to her room.

So early when he was helping out he was only doing it because his mother asked him to. No doubt he would have been punished for not helping. I guess I was wrong when I thought for a brief moment that he actually might have a decent quality about him.


	4. Chapter 4: Lunchtime Talks

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Four: Lunchtime Talks**

**January 11th**

**5 Months 3 Weeks & 3 Days Left**

_Edward's POV_

Alice and I have been staying with Bella for three days now and things are gradually forming a routine. Bella and Alice are getting on rather well but I've still made no progress with her. I guess we started off on a bad note and haven't really been able to get back on stable ground.

We don't exactly talk which I guess doesn't help matters and everything I do say seems to annoy her or push her further away. My lovely sister is not making the situation easy though and seems to think I'm going out of my way to aggravate Bella. I've probably received over twenty calls from Esme in the last 48 hours about that.

I'm more alone here than I was back at home. Since Bella and I don't exactly communicate Alice and her spend all their time together and I don't get on well with any one at her school so I don't exactly have anyone to speak to. This isn't exactly fun.

At school I managed to change my timetable so I was in classes I actually wanted to be in. We were fitted to Bella's schedule but I didn't want to take some of the lessons so altered it. Currently I was passing the time by sitting on a bench and watching a P.E. class in session. I had a free period and the work here is too easy so I have nothing to do to pass the time.

The days have become boring and lonely.

"You okay?" A voice asked as someone sat down next to me. I turned to see Bella smiling softly at me.

"Eh yeah, I'm fine. Where's Alice?" Those two seemed joined at the hip.

"I have no idea. I lost her after class." She shrugged and I nodded. Alice was up to something or she wouldn't have abandoned Bella.

"I thought you had class now." She shook her head.

"Nope. It ended ten minutes ago."

"So what were you doing for the last ten minutes?"

"Watching you sit here by yourself. You're not happy are you?" I glanced over to see her looking at me kindly. The way the wind was whipping her hair away from her face and the way she was smiling softly dazed me slightly. My coherent thoughts vanished and I couldn't seem to remember what she was saying. "You okay Edward?" I shook my head and the rational me returned.

"Yeah. What did you ask a second ago?" I asked looking out at the P.E. class, not daring to look back at Bella in fear I'd do something stupid.

"If you were happy or not."

"What does it matter?"

"Of course it matters. Come on, you haven't eaten anything today. Let's go to lunch." She stood up and indicated towards the cafeteria. I apprehensively stood up to follow her. "Edward the food is not going to be that bad so don't worry."

We walked silently and collected our food before sitting down at a table in the back of the room. Since most classes were still underway the place was almost empty. I hesitantly tried the food when I heard Bella chuckling, looking up quickly I noticed she was laughing at me.

"You're acting like it's going to kill you."

She has a nice smile. She should definitely smile more often.

What, where did that come from? I shook my head quickly.

"No I just, I don't really eat much."

"What do you do Edward? I know more about what you don't do than anything else." I smirked, she had a point there.

"I'm afraid I don't know how to answer that question. Alice would say I play the piano, am big on my music, spend most of my time studying and hanging out with friends. I would say I don't do anything except live a very dull and boring life." She watched me carefully and I felt under scrutiny from her watch.

I didn't like not knowing what she was thinking. With most people they are predictable and I know what their next move is going to be but with Bella I don't have a clue. No one has ever asked me if I was happy and that surprised me.

"No I'm not happy." Bella looked straight in my eyes and smiled pitifully. "But I wasn't happy before I got here so don't worry."

"Have you ever been happy?"

"Yes. But that was a very long time ago." I returned to the food before me and tried to have a few bites without feeling the need to vomit violently.

"Can I ask why you're not happy or is that too personal considering I barely know you." I pondered what she said. I don't understand why she's asking. Why does she care?

"I have no freedom." What the hell, it's not like she's going to tell anyone.

"Freedom?"

"Yes. Alice hates her title as you know but do you know why she hates it?" Bella thought about it for a second then shook her head.

"She just said that she felt segregated from everyone else and didn't like it."

"That's true to some existent. Both of us are expected by our parents and peers to do certain things with our lives. With Alice, she's expected to marry and have children. That is her only requirement. She was very lucky now that I come to think about it. Jasper, her boyfriend, has a decent title so if he was to propose she would be allowed to marry him."

"And if he didn't have a title?"

"She would have to turn down his offer no matter how much she loved him and find someone else. It's all about wealth and status. Jasper is going to receive everything in his inheritance and I will receive everything my family has in mine. Let's say I never had a son or never had any children 

what so ever, what would I do with all that money and land? Let's also say Alice married Jasper and did have a son, therefore my nephew. I would need to hand down my estate to an heir or it becomes extinct. If Jasper didn't have a title then his son would not have a title and my land would not be eligible to go to him."

"So it's basically keeping the wealth amongst the wealthy."

"Exactly." She smiled but this time it didn't reach her eyes.

"That's not really fair."

"I know."

"You said Alice was lucky, how?"

"She found someone she loved and she could marry him if she wanted. Our parents wouldn't step in to stop it so she's lucky. She isn't being forced to marry someone she doesn't love."

"This all seems too weird."Bella said shaking her head and taking a quick drink of her water. "What about you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked looking at her with confusion.

"Alice will most likely marry for love, will you?"

"That requires me to actually believe in the idea of love." She laughed and shook her head.

"You don't believe in love?" She seemed to think this was the most bewildering thing she's ever heard.

"Not exactly. I know people can fall in love I just don't think I can." The laughter and smiles were gone and replaced with looks of pity. I felt sad to see the smile go and know I cause that.

"What makes you think that no one could love you?"

"Oh I don't think people couldn't love _me _I just don't think _I_could love them. I'm cold and heartless, that much is obvious. And all that just adds to the fact that I will be marrying for convenience rather than love."

"How does that work exactly? You know, marrying for convenience." Bella asked, trying to lead away from the heavier topics.

"They usually fail. For some reason there are a high number of divorcees amongst those in the peerage system."

"Peerage system, run that by me again." She was confused by it all. Alice tried to explain it in as much detail as possible but if you don't live the life then it can be hard to grasp. I'm in the peerage system and I still don't have a clue what's going on half the time.

"It's all the different ranks in titles of nobility. If that makes any sense. Basically you have your royal family at the top then the Dukes, followed by the Marquees, then the Earls, next is the Viscounts and finally the Barons. Most but not all of these title holders will get divorced. It's understandable though. They married for wealth rather than love. Like you said, keeping the wealth amongst the wealthy."

"So you'll have to do that?" I nodded causing Bella to shake her head.

"Do you want to find love?"

"I don't know where to look."

"It's usually in the place you least expect to find it."

"I'm afraid that doesn't narrow it down." She smirked and nodded.

"I'm not going to start feeling sorry for you as you're well off. I do think it's a shame the circumstances you're in but don't expect me to be sympathetic to you. If that's what you wanted by telling me all that then you told the wrong person."

"You asked me, not the other way around."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay. But I have one question."

"Fire away."

"How did you know? How did you know I was...unhappy?"

"It's in your eyes. They're endless pools of darkness. With eyes like that you have to be sad about something."

"How do they look now?" I knew what the answer was going to be before she said it. Alice gave me a big run through years ago about how my eyes changed colour to match my moods.

"They're lighter than before." I nodded and rose from the table.

"Thank for having lunch with me. I appreciate it."

"It's nothing so don't worry. Remember I am meant to be hosting you and it is kinda my job to look after you whilst you're here."

"I know but...I was particularly rude to you. I apologise for that. It was uncalled for."

"All in the past Edward."

I nodded and walked two feet away before turning back around.

"Bella." She looked back up from her tray, surprised I was back again. "Thank you for listening. No one's really done that before." She smiled brightly at me making me feel a little light headed again.

"It was nothing Edward."

Walking away from her made me realise that I may have gotten in over my head with this girl. There's something different about her that I've never come across before and I don't know what to expect. I'm still completely lost as to why she would care though? What could she gain from that?

"Have a nice lunch?" Alice asked, linking her arm with mine. I eyed her suspiciously.

"Where were you?" She smiled like nothing was wrong just proving that she was in fact up to something.

"I was just at the music department seeing if they would let you use their piano for practice. Relax Eddie, nothing's wrong."

"I thought we agreed that my name is Edward not Eddie and I do not like being called Eddie."

"Yeah well I don't care. So how was your lunch?"

"It was fine." I said brushing the conversation off. If only it worked.

"Nope I want more details than that." She sang.

"Why are you so cheery?"

"They're topaz." I looked at her lost then she pointed to my eyes and I understood what she was going on about. "I haven't seen them like that in months. I don't know what you two spoke about but it's had some effect because they're not pitch black anymore. A good improvement if I do say so myself."

"You set this up." I accused her. She faked being hurt by my accusation and put her hand over her heart.

"How could you accuse your sister of such a thing? I have absolutely no idea about this crazy allegation you are making."

"Drop the act Alice. Why'd you do it?"

"I wanted to see you smile and guess what? It worked." She smiled again and kissed my cheek before bouncing away. "That girl has quite an effect on you."

She most certainly does.


	5. Chapter 5: Arguments

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Five: Arguments**

**January 15th**

**5 Months 2 Weeks & 6 Days Left**

_Alice's POV_

This week was well...interesting. Bella and Edward have been hot and cold to each other for the last few days. My lunch plan worked wonders though. Edward is finally letting people in which is a nice change. According to Bella, who I managed to pry information out of, she said they just spoke about Edwards's life back home. Unfortunately that doesn't narrow it down.

But hey, at least he smiled and looked semi happy. That was a big accomplish for Edward although I doubt he realised that.

Deciding that it was about time I filled in our friends back home about what was going on I called Jasper.

"Hey." He answered after three rings. "I missed you."

"Hi. I missed you too."

"How are things going?"

"They could be better, just slightly." I said sitting down at the top of the stairs looking down on to the living room.

"What's going on? Edward causing a problem?" I could tell he was smirking. They all thought Edward would kick up a fuss and they were right.

"He was to begin with. Now he and the girl we're staying with, Bella are driving me nuts." He chuckled which lifted my spirits, I loved his laugh. "For once Edward has met someone as stubborn as him and it's causing chaos. They get on and talk and its great then two minutes later something's wrong and they are bickering. But I think...I think there's something there. Maybe after six months I will finally get Edward to come out of his shell and perhaps he'll make a friend along the way."

"Just a friend?"

"We're taking baby steps here; this is Edward we're talking about. He still can't get over the fact that he's going to a state school, I doubt he's going to jump at the idea of having a relationship anytime soon." Jasper chuckled again; see I'm not the only one who thinks Edward dating is ridiculous at this moment in time.

"But he likes her?"

"Maybe. She seems to irritate him with her stubbornness but other than that they get on rather well. I just need him to break out of that bubble he's been living in."

"How are the people treating you?"

"They're fine with me; I'm not the pompous show off." Another chuckle down the phone. "He's being...well...Edward. On the first day he was practically charming the pants off majority of the female population. What makes it even better though was that Bella wasn't fazed at all. It's so nice to finally meet someone who isn't swooning over my stuck up brother. Unfortunately most of her female friends are trying to worm their way in."

"And you're going to be the protective sister and scare them off?" I thought about it for a second then shook my head, but of course Jasper couldn't see that.

"No I'm not going to run to his aid this time. He demanded and audience and now he has one, he'll just have to learn to live with it."

"You're serious?" Jasper sounded more surprised than I thought. Granted in the past if I found any vultures about I'd rush to Eddie's aid and help him bat them away. But now...nope he dug his own grave so he just better lie in it.

"Completely. It's his fault if they stick around."

"Well, tell him good luck from me. I don't think he has it in him to fight the harem off. Is there a leader of the group?"

"Oh yeah, don't remind me! I hate her. She's that really annoying popular claiming, bimbo who demands attention. She and her friend are driving me crazy. Every time Edward does something they feel the need to gossip about it. He only put something in the recycling bin and that earned him the title of 'carer of the environment' then some swooning motions. It's painful." Jasper laughed again.

"Is Edward there?"

"Yeah, you want to talk to him?"I looked down at the living room to see Edward scowling at a frowning Bella; they are certainly an interesting pair.

"If that's alright."

"You have perfect timing, I think I'm about to stop another battle breaking out. Edward!" I called alerting him that I was there. He stood up apprehensively and I chucked the phone to him. Rather than taking the call in the room he wandered into the kitchen. I decided to take his seat on the couch.

"What's wrong now?" I asked Bella still holding that frown.

"Nothing." I smirked shaking my head.

"Don't lie, that frown says otherwise."

"Fine. How do you put up with him?" She was exasperated and I could tell Edward had really annoyed her.

"What did he do?"

"My car is getting its M.O.T. this week so it's going to be in the garage. Edward is not happy with the fact that for part of the journey to and from school we will be getting public transport i.e. the bus."

"I'll talk to him." I comforted her. No doubt Edward would have implied it was a peasant wagon or something like that. This is what happens when spoilt rich boys leave their precious cars at home.

"It won't do any good."

"Oh I'm not sure; you haven't seen the powers of my persuasion just yet." She smiled but it was only to reassure me. Edward walked back through still on the phone.

"What did she say exactly?" He was eyeing me weirdly. Jasper must have told him about what I thought of his and Bella's friendship. "No I guess I'll have to ask her about that. Yeah it's good to talk to you too. Say hi to Rose and Emmett for me, okay bye." He hung up and handed the phone to me. "Can I talk to you in the kitchen for a second?"

Bella glanced at us with confusion, it was just better that she didn't know what we were going to discuss. Edward seemed pissed though which can't be good. Somehow by playing the encouraging and matchmaker sister I've landed myself in hot water. I apprehensively stood up and followed Edward out of the room.

"What are you doing?" He asked just out of earshot from Bella.

"Seconds up!" I chimed and tried to dash away but he caught my arm.

"Talk. Now." It was an order rather than a request.

"Sure."

"Alice." It was his warning tone. I was about to lose angry Eddie and get furious Eddie.

"I may have suggested to Jasper that you and Bella are getting on. That is all. You're making a friend which is such good news-"He cut me off.

"Alice I'm not an idiot so don't treat me like one. This isn't about just being friends with her. You're trying to push it so that I actually care about her. Do you happen to remember that technically I'm going to be engaged by the time we get home. Carlisle is already finding me a bride so why push this. All you're doing is putting a vulnerable girls feeling on the line."

"She's not vulnerable and I'm not doing anything. You need more friends and yes it has crossed my mind that perhaps you could be more than friends with Bella but come on, she's nice, funny, kind, what more could you want?"

"Wealth, a title perhaps. You know, the things that matter!" Edward ranted.

"They don't mean anything. So what if she's not as rich as us and so what if her title is 'Miss', do you know what I would do to have the title 'Miss'? It only matters if you make it a big deal. No one will bat and eyelid if you don't make it an issue, make it one though and she would be ridiculed."

"Why are we even having this conversation? I do not like her. Not even a tiny bit. Friends, pfft never in this lifetime. More than friends, I'd rather cut off my manhood with a spoon." He growled.

"That can be arranged." I hissed at him.

"Sorry to bother you two. This arrived for you, Edward." Bella said looking at the package in her hands. Oh god she heard. Edward took the package then stormed past her and went upstairs.

"I'm going to get started on dinner. Want to help?" She asked smiling slightly. It was a perfect fake smile.

"Sure." I nodded and helped her gather the food from the refrigerator.

I can't believe she heard all that. But just how much did she hear. The blow that would have hurt the most would have been near the end of the conversation. I don't know how Bella feels about Edward but I do know that she at least considered them on the path of friendship. With a little encouraging I'm pretty sure I could have got her to see him as more than a friend.

If only the same could be said for my asshole of a brother.

He thinks he's better than her and that's the problem. I know for a fact that he likes her; he's just too scared to admit it. After all, Emmett, Jasper, Rose and my attempts to make him laugh and smile, properly- none of this accommodating smile crap- the one person to actually succeed at it was Bella. I'm pretty sure she wasn't even trying either.

Unfortunately after today's fiasco Bella and Edward are going to be back at square one, like that lunch never happened. Sometimes I could just kill Edward for being such an idiot. Just because his heart is made of stone doesn't mean everyone else's is too. People have feelings and I have a funny feeling that Bella's have just been crushed because of what he said.

She may not have liked him more than a friend but they were on the way. Before this fight I could have guaranteed they would be together in four months. Now, well I would need about a year, which we don't have.

So I guess I'm just going to have to increase my efforts to get them together. This is meant to happen. I know it. Edward is meant to fall for her. I just haven't worked out how yet.

The doorbell rang shortly after Bella and I had finished preparing dinner so she raced off to answer it. I could hear muffled voices then someone went up the stairs. It obviously wasn't Bella since she walked back into the kitchen a few seconds later. I raised my eyebrows in question

"It was Lauren." She was frowning in confusion as much as I was.

"Lauren? As in your friend Lauren?" I asked

"Nope, not my friend. Jessica's friend who is Angela's friend who is my friend. If I had it my way I wouldn't hang out with them."

"But she's here?"

"Yep." I don't think Bella could process this anymore than I could.

"What does she want?"

"She said Edward had called her and wanted to see her." She shrugged then checked on the food in the oven.

"Edward?" I asked still completely lost. Please tell me my brother wouldn't be so stupid as to encourage one girl's affections seconds after crushing another's.

"Mm-hmm. I guess it's good we have extra food, she's staying for dinner." I sighed and shook my head. Edward is the biggest idiot I have ever met. I'm ashamed to be related to him at this moment. Only he would think it's a good idea to encourage one girl hoping that she'll take his mind off of another.

Turns out that dinner was one of the most awkward I've ever had. Charlie had to work late so that meant it was just us four, Edward, Bella, Lauren and me. Half way through the meal Bella and I were practically gagging at the other two flirting. Edward wasn't flirting on purpose, that much was obvious; he looked royally displaced when Lauren kept touching his arm and bicep.

So it turns out that Lauren has a thing for my brother. I guess it's more than a thing, more like an obsession. That's just great. My matchmaking ideas are just running down the drain now.


	6. Chapter 6: Shopping Break Out

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Six: Shopping Break Out**

**January 19th**

**5 Months 2 Weeks & 2 Days Left**

_Bella's POV_

Today we were going shopping.

Aghh! My worst nightmare, especially with Alice taking the lead.

Now I'm not a fan of shopping but decided to appease her and just go. Turns out it became a group event. All of my friends were there and even Edward who looked completely out of place. He had a look of terror on his face and I wondered if he was going to bolt out the door at any second.

Alice must have thought the same as she entwined her arm with his, keeping him glued to her side, then she did the same to me. We were her prisoners and had no chance of escape.

Jacob, Mike and Ben decided they didn't want to go to the same stores as us so dashed off before they could be dragged in by one of the girls. Edward had no choice. Alice was not letting him out of her sight; she insisted he would run away. He just rolled his eyes but didn't put up a fight.

Jessica and Lauren took charge at that point. Alice said she would rather get what they wanted to do over and done with before they followed her regime, that way they couldn't whine about not doing what they wanted to do. Angela just followed us along, keeping me company while Alice berated Edward for something.

After our fifth shop it became apparent that Lauren and Jessica were modelling items that were to be appealing to the only guy in the group. He was being polite and telling them that they looked nice, but that wasn't the reaction they wanted.

I thought I was doing brilliantly well after the sixth shop realising that I hadn't been forced into any clothing yet. Thank God. Who knew what they were going to have me model for them.

Apparently I was going to find out sooner than I thought though as Lauren and Jessica had been everywhere they wanted to go. Now it was Alice's turn. She dragged me into the closest store, shoved me in a dressing room, told me to strip down to my underwear, then came back a few minutes later with handfuls of clothes.

I was trying to put on the correct items while she was commanding through the curtain what went with what. It was confusing to say the least. After fighting to get them on I would come out and all eyes would be on me.

They would discuss me like I wasn't even there, making comments about the colour, style; how it looked on me, the problems, what would look better, then make a final decision. If I was to get it they would all nod then force me back in to take it off and give it to them. If it was to go I was shoved in the changing room as they pointed out the obvious faults then hand it to them so they could put it back.

It was tiring work. I had modelled about twelve completely different outfits and we hadn't even been to the second store. It was taking its toll, not just on me. Edward looked positively bored; he also became my impartial judge in all of this.

When we were at the second store he would indicated which item he preferred silently. Thumbs up if it all looked good, thumbs down if it was a disaster. When he only liked one item he would point to it on himself. He was giving me the exact same response as his sister, just seconds faster.

He would tell me what he thought as the girls were still deliberating, and then they would tell me the same as him. I guess he can be an ass but he seems to know fashion and what looked good. Of course there were times when he would have a different answer to Alice and the girls but he would stay adamant that they were wrong and it turns out I agreed with him on most.

As I was changing into another outfit in the third store we had entered I felt a draft on my back. I was facing the wall with the changing room curtain behind me; it had to have opened slightly. As I turned slowly I saw him, watching me. It wasn't a perverted leer or anything like that.

Edward was sitting in one of the chairs a few feet away and had glanced up. He saw through the gap in the curtain to see me standing only in my underwear, thank God it wasn't a big gap. I saw him take a sharp intake of breath as his eyes roamed my body then made their way to mine. We were staring directly at each other.

"Hurry up Bella! We have stores to go to and things to buy, now come on!" Alice screeched, breaking our eye contact. I quickly tugged the gap shut and threw on the next item. My heart was thumping so loud in my chest; I wouldn't be surprised if they could hear it.

At the fourth shop on Alice's list I managed to convince her that it was someone else's time to model for them. Somehow Angela got dragged into it, she was secretly sending me daggers but with a small smirk so at least she wasn't annoyed. This was the only time Alice took her eyes off me and Edward.

I was standing against a clothes rack as the other three pointed out to Angela the good and bad of what she was wearing when Edward came and stood directly behind me. I could feel his breath against the back of my neck which sent my heart racing again.

"Want to get out of here?" He whispered. Angela had spotted the exchange but hadn't alerted the others. "Alice won't notice, come on." He lightly tugged my arm and I went to follow him, but first signalling to Angela to keep quiet. She winked telling me she understood.

We made our getaway out the store as fast as possible. To avoid being found we stayed clear of the main food court and headed upstairs to a quiet secluded cafe. They would never look here and probably assume we just left. Though Alice would have her suspicions as Edward and I haven't spoken to each other in the last four days.

I wasn't hurt by what he said, just wounded slightly. I thought that we could be friends but apparently that's not what he thought. After the lunch we had last week I assumed that he was okay with me and that there were no problems. Turns out I was wrong. There seem to be more problems than solutions. I just don't get what I've done to him.

So we wouldn't get kicked out of the cafe we ordered something to drink then sat in silence. I didn't know what to say and I don't think he did either. The escape seemed perfect but now what were we to do? It's not like we could go anywhere as once Alice realised we weren't there she would come searching for us.

The drinks arrived and we both took quiet sips. Then the awkwardness set in. He played with a napkin on the table, drying up the condensation from his glass, as I looked at the artworks on the wall.

"I'm sorry for what I said a few days ago. There's no excuse for that behaviour and I understand perfectly if you don't want to be friends with me but I would at least like to make nice. Rather than avoid you I would prefer it so that we could at least be around one another without any troubles even if we aren't friends." Edward said as he looked down and folded then unfolded his napkin. My brain had a lapse for a second and I thought he looked cute when he was nervous.

"I think we can at least be civil to one another. Then we'll go from there."

"I'd like that. Thank you." He finally was looking at me and not the napkin. "You keep giving me all these chances, I wonder if I'm eventually going to run out."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, we still have months left together."

"Five months two weeks and two days left." He informed me.

"I'm not sure if you were trying to reassure me by telling me the exact time left. It seems obvious that you are counting down the days until it was over." He smirked but shook his head.

"Nah I just like wanted to know how much time left. I'm not counting down the days. Just keeping track of the days. Let's think of it as how many days I have left to become your friend and not just some rich asshole who acted like a snob the entire time."

"Not a snob the entire time, you helped me escape from Alice's shopping grasp." He shrugged.

"I've been there before; she doesn't stop until you're dying." I smiled and nodded, that totally sounded like Alice. "Would you care for something to eat?" He asked pointing at the menu.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

"Slightly but I won't eat unless you want to."

"Then let's eat." He smiled and called over the waiter. We ordered our food and both took another sip of our drinks. "Thanks for your opinions on all the outfits I was forced into."

"You're welcome. After years of being forced to shop with Alice I've picked up a few of her techniques."

"If Alice wasn't your sister I would have thought you were gay." He chuckled and shook his head.

"Nope, definitely not gay."

"Can you prove it?" He smirked at my semi challenge.

"I'm sure Lauren would love that." I frowned slightly; I don't see the connection between them. After she had dinner with us Edward and her have been inseparable.

"What's going on between you and her?" I asked curiously.

"Ehh...I don't know. She seems to like me but I just met her so...yeah it's kinda complicated. She's made her intentions very clear with what she wants us to be but I don't want to date anyone when I'm here. There's no point, nothing will come of it." He shrugged just as the food arrived.

After a few mouthfuls of food we got back on track with the conversation.

"How do you know nothing will come of it?" I asked.

"Do you want me to date Lauren?" I felt like he was calling me out, challenging me.

"Not particularly." He smirked.

"Why not? What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's wrong with her per say. She just likes the limelight and you are a showman who likes the attention too. If you two went out it would be all everyone would talk about and she would love it. I don't think that she would date you if it didn't benefit her in some way." He nodded in agreement.

"That's another reason for not dating her. Well that and also that I'm not particularly fond of her. She is kinda irritating."

"You have no idea." I murmured under my breath not expecting him to hear me, he did though and chuckled lightly.

"So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you seeing anyone? Several seem like they're interested."

"Like who?" I had no idea about this.

"Jacob and Mike for starters. Jacob watches you from afar whereas Mike sticks around close and watches you like a hawk. On the first day I thought he was going to deck me for just being there. He glared daggers at me and made it clear I was not welcome." I sat there completely bewildered. I can't believe this. Jacob I kinda figured but Mike, no way.

"You serious?" He smirked and nodded.

"Those two are rather protective of you Bella." I groaned and put my head in my hands.

"What have they been saying?" He chuckled and shrugged.

"Not much. Jacob just said I should loosen up a bit and try and fit in more but not too much, Mike on the other hand basically said I was not allowed to date you. I was going to call him on that and make it a nice challenge but I don't think you would have gone with it."

"What, me pretending that we are dating?"

"No. Just us dating." He smiled crookedly at me; he could tell I was nervous with the conversation.

"I don't think that's likely." I said shaking my head, trying to move away from the thoughts of me and Edward dating.

"Either do I."

"Especially since you would rather have your manhood cut off with a spoon than date me." I teased. At first me tensed up and was ready to apologise but saw the smirk on my face and chuckled.

"Now that I think about it, dating you wouldn't be as painful as having my manhood cut off with a spoon. Dating you could probably be rather pleasurable." He was smirking again; thank God he has a sense of humour and wasn't going to jump down my neck about using his words against him.

"I guess you'll never know." He shrugged.

"I wouldn't be so sure." I eyed him suspiciously.

"What do you know that I don't?" He chuckled then answered with one word.

"Alice." That kinda makes sense, she continually asks me about what I think of Edward and every detail to do with him. "She thinks we would be a great match and her heart is set on getting us together."

"In which lifetime cause it sure isn't happening in this one." He laughed and nodded.

"You're probably right."

"There you two are!" Alice screeched as she bounced into the cafe. "And having a nice cosy lunch I see." Edward shot her an exasperated glare which I just caught, Alice didn't seem fazed though."

"Well when you two disappeared we all went for something to eat so it's a good thing that you two had lunch together. The others have all gone home. Mike, Jacob and Angela said they would call you Bella and Lauren will call you Edward. So now that's done, what are we doing, more shopping or going home?"

"Home!" Both Edward and I called in unison making Alice pout but not put up a fight.

As we all waited at the bus stop I couldn't help but laugh at Edward, he was so out of his depth. There were a group of girls a few years younger than us by the looks of them standing about a meter away and they were flirting shamelessly with him. He looked so uncomfortable. Then the elderly lady standing next to him gave him a wink and he practically jumped on Alice.

"Help me the plebs are undressing me with their eyes!" He whispered furiously to her. He actually looked in pain it was brilliant.

"Oh just take off your shirt and give them a real show." She sang before rummaging through one of her bags and telling me about how this would go great with something she saw in my wardrobe.

When the bus started to pull up to the stop I turned to both of them, but I was mostly talking to Edward.

"I'll put the money in for all of us, you just walk to where there are empty seats, and there should be loads as no one really gets this bus here. If downstairs is full go upstairs. It's simple. Oh and Edward, try not to sneer at the passengers, they won't like it." He nodded and looked like he was concentrating hard. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and took a picture of him; Alice winked and asked for a copy so they could put it in his baby book.

Eddie's first ride on a bus!

The doors opened to let us on and they both walked in before me, I put the money in with no trouble and we took seats a few rows back. I was glad we didn't have to go upstairs, I would hate for them to have seen how clumsy I am when the bus lunges forward and I'm climbing the stairs. I've gained more than my fair share of bruises from that.

Alice sat down and placed her bags on the window seat next to her. Edward let me slip past him to sit down so he could sit in the aisle. I didn't complain even though this was rather impractical since I knew when we were getting off and he didn't.

For the first five minutes Alice and I just watched Edward and both of ended up bursting out laughing. He actually looked like he was dying a slow and painful death. It wasn't until one elderly woman coughed that he began to freak out.

"Oh my God, how many diseases am I going to contract by sitting in the peasant death trap? They don't even have seatbelts, this is atrocious. And thanks to that old hag I'm probably breathing in her deathly germ molecules that are swarming round this travelling disease contraption. Alice did we update my will before I came on the horrid and pathetic excuse for a vehicle?" The pain and fear in his eyes set Alice off again; she just patted his head and continued to giggle.

Edward didn't say much for a while. Alice was winding him up by pretending to choke on the 'deathly germ molecules that are swarming round this travelling disease contraption'. Edward was not amused and stopped looking concerned after the fourth time she did it.

We all eventually stopped laughing and sat in silence which ended up opening a whole new can of worms. There were three guys, stocky looking with a few piercings and tattoos littering their arms and necks, and throughout the journey they kept talking about Alice and, in better language than what they used, how nice she looked.

I could tell Edward was getting agitated as he kept clenching and unclenching his fists but Alice wasn't bothered. It wasn't until they offered her £30 for sex that Edward started ranting again.

"This is absolutely disgusting behaviour. Here we are and one of us is being accosted for sex and being treated like a common whore which she definitely is not."

"I'll give you £40 and your boyfriend can watch!" One of them hollered.

"Screw this. I'm going to have them shot!" The weird thing is he was being deadly serious. He whipped out his cell phone and started dialling as he stood up. Alice lunged round tired to grab him but he was too quick so that left it up to me.

I grabbed his shirt with all my might and rammed him back down into the seat. Taking his phone away quickly I closed it and shoved it in his jean pocket, that was a tricky task in itself since he was sitting again so it didn't just slide in. I placed my hand on his chest to stop him moving again and turned his face to look at me.

"Please for the love of God stay in this seat. I know for a fact that they could kick your ass and I'd rather not spend the entire night in the emergency room. I beg of you, Edward. Stay sitting." I pleaded but he was no longer looking at me, he was looking at my hand on his chest.

The second I realised what he was staring at I felt like an electric shot had occurred and my hand leapt away from him as fast as possible. He kept staring at the spot on his chest where my hand had been though and then to my hand which I had placed on my knee.

Alice was watching the whole exchange curiously and raised her eyebrow at me. I had no idea what was now going on with Edward, probably horrified that a 'common' girl touched him, so shrugged.

When we were off the bus Edward sucked in as much clean air as possible and broke out in a grin. He was distracted momentarily so I decided to question Alice.

"When he said he was going to get them shot, could he really do that?" She bit her lip then waved her hand.

"Of course not." She was lying though. That much was obvious. "Oh Edward!" She called stepping away from me. Before he could turn round she smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" He whined.

"For being an idiot. Let's go."

Those two are really weird. But I guess...I wouldn't have it any other way.

Edward turned and motioned for me to come along. He gave me his famous crooked smile which, unlike before, made me weak at the knees. Oh crap!

I think...if it's even possible...I have a tiny, tiny, microscopic crush on Edward- the pompous show off who doesn't date anyone unless he has to.

Well that's just great!


	7. Chapter 7: Jealousy

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Seven: Jealousy**

**January 28th**

**5 Months 1 Week & 1 Day Left**

_Edward's POV_

This last week has been hell and all because of one person, Bella. When we went shopping I thought it was going to be a nightmare but eventually it turned out rather fun, minus the bus ride. That was just ghastly.

The main thing that stands out from the time in the mall was seeing Bella change. I don't want to sound like a pervert but I was completely mesmerised by her. She looked fantastic, truly amazing. Then later on when she put her hand on my chest on the bus, the warmth of her against my skin was captivating.

All these stupid thoughts have caused me to view her completely different. I can't stop imagining her in her underwear now. It's killing me. Every time she's near me now I panic. My breathing picks up, my palms become sweaty, I lose all coherent thoughts and make an idiot out of myself. It's only getting worse. But I can't exactly stay out of her way since we do sleep under the same roof.

I hate when lust gets the better of me, especially when there is no one around to help relieve the tension. Lauren has said that if I needed _anything _I was to call her but that thought alone makes me grimace. I know what she wants from me but there is no way that will be happening. I absolutely refuse to be her show dog for the next two months.

Since I've been taking more cold showers than I care to admit I've kept my distance from Bella hoping that the problem will go away itself. So far I've had no such luck.

Though this has opened another issue for me. When she's not around I feel weird, I kinda miss her, but I will never admit that to anyone. Alice is still harping on about what a cute couple we would make so there is no way I'm going to add fuel to the fire by telling her that a tiny part of me likes Bella. Just as a friend.

_Who you imagine in her underwear?_

That is just a minor glitch in the friends' category. Give me a few days and I'll be fine.

When I'm not around Bella I look to see where she is, just to check if she's okay. I have to say I'm not happy with what I see. That Mike guy is being a pain in the ass. He's practically stalking her. Every time she sits near me he comes over and joins us. One time she was on her way to the bathroom and he followed her there then waited outside for her. I can't help my mind from screaming 'STALKER!' every time I see him.

He's always around and I just want to kill him. Jacob is also getting in the way, though he's doing it more subtly than that twat Mike. Jacob only comes over when he has a reason to and usually jumps in to be Bella's partner for tasks, not that I'm bothered considering if I asked she'd probably turn me down.

It was lunch hour for me so I was sitting at the back of the lunch hall watching a few other students mingle in with their trays of rotten food. I don't eat anything this school has to offer, I would rather starve than eat that crap again. Instead of a tray of slush on the table I had five or six piano compositions that I was adding the finer tuning to.

At least this school has a piano I can use which is more than I expected. Bella stays late a few days a week and she managed to convince Alice to join the events and clubs she's in so that left me with nothing to do. Therefore Alice found me a piano and made it possible for me to practice here. That way I won't be rusty when I return to my normal life.

A week after I return there is a recital of some sort, I don't know details, I don't care about the details, all I know is that I am performing one of my own pieces. I would not be able to perform to the best of my ability by practicing in one week, I need to start the extensive process now and make sure it's perfect.

So I spend my lunch hours going over the pieces I'm considering to play then making minor adjustments as something just doesn't sound right. Most of the time I'm alone but today the one person who I wanted to stay clear of, other than Mike, decided to sit down opposite me.

Bella pulled the chair back and smiled and me as she sat down. I quickly moved the pieces of paper out of her way so she could put her tray down. She nodded her thanks. Already my head was spinning just by her mere presence. What is happening to me?

"Do you mind that I'm joining you?"She asked softly, as though she was worried about what I was going to say.

"No not at all." I didn't look up when I spoke to her, if I don't look at her I can answer in some kind of language that she might be able to understand.

"So how have you been?" I noticed her glance over at me again then return to the food on the tray. I do have to say it looks worse than what I ate last time. How can she even bring herself to eat that?

"Fine thank you." I said debating on which note would be better in the sixth bar of my final, and favourite, composition.

"Edward?"

"Mm-hmm." Looking over the notes something just seemed wrong, if I maybe-

She placed her hand on mine.

That definitely got a reaction from me.

I swept my hand away from hers as fast as possible and shuffled the papers up to leave.

"What have I done wrong?" She sounded hurt and that was the only reason I looked her in the eyes.

"Nothing." It was barely a whisper; I don't even know why I said it that quiet.

"But you've been avoiding me like the plague." She played nervously with her sleeve, not looking at me anymore. "I thought we were trying to be friends."

"We are."

"Then why have you only said three words to me, minus this conversation, since the shopping trip?" She looked me straight in the eyes and I felt insignificant under her gaze. A swarm of emotions hit me when I looked into her eyes; she looked sad, angry, annoyed, and upset, all at the same time. I caused that...I think.

"It's complicated." There was no way I was going to tell her that every time she's around me I undress her with my eyes. Nope, not going to happen. That would earn me the label of pervert since stalker is already taken.

"Explain, please?" Her tone was so soft and vulnerable I had to think twice before realising what she said. Time to make up a lie.

"I don't like one of your friends and he's always-" Mike came and sat down.

"Hey guys, mind if I join you? Great thanks."

"-around." I finished looking straight at her. Her mouth formed the perfect 'o' in realisation then she licked her lips and bit the bottom one. I swear she was trying to kill me with fantasies. What I would love to do with those li-

"Mike can you give Edward and me a few minutes. I really need to talk to him about something." Bella asked giving him her best dazzling smile. It worked, on both of us.

"Okay. Sure. Anything for you." Then Mike stood up and sat down one table away. We both shot him what-the-hell-are-you-doing looks which prompted him to get up and move further away. Thank God for that.

"Sorry about him. He's kinda protective."

"If you say so." I mumbled gathering my final belongings up so I could leave. Standing up she turned to me one last time.

"Please stay? I want to talk to you." How could I refuse her? I sat down immediately, just catching Mike's glare my way that I wasn't leaving. Jackass.

"What can I do for you Bella? What do you want from me?" That came out much harsher than I intended. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again and shook her head.

"You know what its okay, you go-"

"EDDIE!" Lauren screamed in my ear, cutting Bella off. Lauren leant over and kissed my cheek, someone, and anyone, please give me bleach this instant so I can remove the germs she's just given me.

"Hey Lauren." I said grimacing inwardly at what she was wearing. Why wear a shirt if it's see through? She caught my eyes wandering and leaned over to whisper in my ear, clearly thinking I enjoyed what I saw. Hell no.

"Like what you see? There's more to come big boy."

Big boy? What the hell? When did I ever become 'big boy'?

I was pulled out of my thoughts with the sound of Bella slamming her chair into the table behind her as she stood up.

"Thanks for lunch." She practically sneered as she walked away. What just happened and why do I have a funny feeling it's my fault?

This is just so crap.

Watching her storm away made my mind run to the gutter again. The sway of her hips brought another round of fantasies to mind. If only she knew why I wasn't talking to her.

"So now that she's out the way...why don't you and I go find somewhere private and I'll show you what else is on offer." She winked and grabbed my arm pulling me up from the comfort of the table.

This girl is unbelievable, and not in a nice way. She just offered herself up like a buffet to me. Where have all the self respecting girls gone?

_She just stormed away from your table._

But that self respecting girl wouldn't look my way. Especially after what just happened, and I'm not even sure what that was.

As Lauren pulled me to a secluded spot my mind was thinking of Bella. Something's changed between us and I can't work out what. Just as I was about to be shoved into what I can only presume was a storage cupboard, I spotted Bella joking around with Jacob.

Why did that make me angry? They're friends, just like me and her.

_But I bet he doesn't think of her in her underwear._

I'm so confused and this whining girl just begging for attention is getting on my nerves.

"Lauren I have to go." With that I left her pouting in the hall as I moved over to see Bella more clearly.

She no longer looks annoyed which I guess is good. She looks happy. Yet why am I jealous that it's Jacob making her happy and not me?

"What's up bro?" Alice said as she ruffled my hair.

"Bro?" I raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"Okay fine, I'll try again. What is going on with you Edward? Happy?" She smiled and put her arm round my shoulder. We must have looked ridiculous due to the height difference. A small Alice having her arm wrapped high over my shoulder when I easily tower over her.

"What did I do wrong at lunch?" She eyed me quizzically.

"How did you know I was watching?"

"You always are. I wouldn't be surprised if you sent her over to me in the first place." She smirked which just confirmed what I thought.

"You made her jealous." I burst out laughing and shook my head.

"No you are definitely mistaken there sister. There is no possible way I could have made Bella jealous. Jealous of what?"

"Of Lauren. You were paying her more attention than you were to Bella. Come on Edward you looked as though you were undressing Lauren with your eyes. Of course Bella would be annoyed. She came to have lunch with you and by the seams of things you came to ogle at Lauren's chest. Are you that much of an idiot?"

"Hey!" I protested. "How was I to know that I was doing all that? Anyway why would Bella want me to pay attention to her?" Alice shot me her are-you-kidding-look.

"Because you two are meant to be acting civil to one another but you've avoided her completely, you fool." I sighed and looked over at Bella who was still joking around with Jacob.

That tinge of jealousy came back. Shit...I think I might like her. Sighing again I put my head in my hands admitting defeat. This was going to be a long 5 months...and we're just getting started.


	8. Chapter 8: Drama Queen

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_.

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Eight: Drama Queen**

**5th February**

**4 Months 3 Weeks & 6 Days Left**

_Alice's POV_

I could tell that today was going to be a struggle. Edward and Bella weren't speaking to each other, what else is new? Edward also spent far too long in the shower this morning making us late. We all entered the English classroom and the teacher decided that if we couldn't be punctual to her lesson then we could be punctual to the detention we were given for that afternoon.

Bella and I scowled at him as we sat down. I needed them to start speaking to placed myself on the end so that they had to talk to one another. Edward knew what I was doing and glared to his heart's content at me. I was just trying to form some kind of bond between the two of them. They're both in denial. They should both trust me when I say they will get together. It's inevitable.

All was well until we were asked to work in groups with who we were sitting with. The minute we were given the work they both started arguing over what to do. I sat there watching the two of them with annoyance. This is not how it is meant to happen.

After some harsh words on both sides they sulked. I wanted to take a photo of how cute it looked with both their backs turned to each other, pouting and scowling. Picture perfect moment. So basically we didn't get the work done as neither would look nor talk to each other so I was the middle man.

These two are so immature.

But it wasn't all sour between them. When Bella was being grilled by the teacher about the work we never did Edward was writing the answers done for her to see, so she wouldn't get in more trouble. Then after the teacher found another prey Edward scrawled, in his neatest writing, a note across the page.

_**Sorry for being an idiot.**_

_**Friends?**_

_**I miss talking/arguing with you already.**_

Bella read it then laughed and turned to him smiling. He grinned back at her when she apologised too. I rolled my eyes at how ridiculous they were being. One minute they fight then the next they make up.

"What are you rolling your eyes at?" Edward asked raising an eyebrow.

"You two." They both looked at me like I had gone mad.

"What about us?" Bella asked turning in her chair to face me.

"You guys go hot and cold all the time. Friends, not friends, friends, not friends, frie-"

"We get the idea Alice." Edward said cutting me off.

"You two should just stay friends and stop with all the hassle of making up."

"Thank you for your opinion, I'll take that into consideration." His voice was dry when he said it. I was under the impression he didn't want me to expand on my views about their friendship.

The teacher saved him an awkward conversation when she informed us what the homework was to be. We had to work in partners of our choice, Bella and I paired up, and work on another one of her sheets.

The bell rang shortly after so we split off to our next lesson. We all met up again at lunch but Edward still wasn't going to eat the school food. He claimed it was life threatening. Bella and I shook our heads as we sat down and then were quickly joined by Mike, Jacob, Angela, Ben, Lauren and Jessica.

It suddenly became crowded.

Lunch became the best time for me to observe the two of them. After what happened yesterday, them getting all jealous, I was curious to see was going to happen today. When Edward and Bella spoke to each other they were both smirking and smiling at one another, I know they're perfect for one another.

But when Jacob spoke to Bella, or even when Mike spoke to Bella (come on he's not even a threat) Edward would watch intensely and the demon would come back in his pitch black eyes. It's good that he's jealous but not to the point where he looks like he could commit murder. I don't want him turning into a monster.

The same thing happened with Bella aswell when Edward was speaking; well really he was flirting, with Lauren and Jessica. Bella looked angry and slightly hurt so she just turned back to the guys that were paying her attention and encouraged their affections, which got Edward more annoyed.

It was actually quite funny to watch but I was in constant fear one of them would dive over the table and deck someone. If Edward's case it would be Mike or Jacob and in Bella's case it would be Lauren or Jessica- probably Lauren if I was to chose she really hates that girl.

Mike and Jacob started up a heated debate about something, leaving Bella sitting there playing with the contents of her tray. I leant over and very quietly whispered to her.

"You like him." It was a statement. Every few seconds she would glance at Edward, it was now obvious how she felt.

"Who?" She as trying to play innocent but there was an edge to her that told she knew who I was referring to.

"Santa Claus, who do you think?" I said sarcastically sending my gaze over to Edward so she couldn't be mistaken about who I meant. The blush on her face confirmed that she did in fact like him.

Perfect. We're now half way there. I just have to get my idiotic brother to admit the same then I can set my final plan in motion.

"How did you know?" Bella asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention to what we were talking about.

"Yesterday when you stormed off, you stormed off like a jealous girlfriend. Then just now, the more he talks to those two the more you look angry at him. If I was to sum you up in one word it would be jealous." She smirked bitterly.

"Am I that pathetic?"

"Nope, not at all. I don't see the appeal of Edward but then again he is my brother and that would be kinda sick to think of him that way-"

"I get you." She said cutting me off, clearly as disturbed as I was by that thought. Yuck!

"Well yeah, but he does have his charm, looks- apparently-, and I've heard that he can be sweet when he wants to so I can completely understand why you like him." She nodded then bit her lip.

"Do you think he knows?" Bella asked nervously. I laughed and shook my head.

"Are you kidding? This is Edward we're talking about; he's a fool and an idiot when it comes to these things. It would take him centuries to work this out."

"Although if it's any consolation, he looks as jealous as you when you talk to Jacob or Mike." I winked at her and stood up to put my tray away. She followed but didn't say anything.

Edward cut off his conversation with Lauren and Jessica when he saw us leaving. Quickly he walked over to catch up with us.

"Why did you leave in such a hurry?" He asked, as though he wasn't happy to break away from their painful company.

"Bored, and I was finished. Why did you want to stay?" He shook his head violently and grimaced.

"No thanks. I can only take so many sexual innuendos in one day; I think I've reached my limit for now." He smirked as we walked away from the lunch hall, only to hear someone running behind us.

"Eddie!" Lauren called as we walked towards the other building where our next class was.

"Oh god, save me."He muttered under his breath, I snickered and watched him grimace when she ran up to us.

"Edward I was wondering if I could be your partner for English? Sorry I forgot to ask earlier, you had me dazzled and I couldn't think straight." Lauren asked, petting my brother's arm. I felt like growling protectively at her, she should take her skanky paws off my brother.

"What's your excuse when he's not around?" I asked, she glared at me but returned to bat her eyelashes at Edward.

"I guess I could be your partner." He nodded and Lauren leant closer to him.

"You're the best Eddie!" With that she leant over and kissed him, full tongue action too. I was slightly grossed out considering this is my brother she sucking face with. Though I was glad to see he was not kissing her back. "See you around." Lauren pulled back and winked then walked away leaving Edward just standing there.

"I feel faint, do I look faint?" He asked exceedingly anxious. Here it comes, the drama queen of the family. "I need bleach or disinfectant, maybe some antiseptic lotion. No that might be too thick; I could dilute it with water. Yes there's an idea! Alice I need the lotion now!" I rolled my eyes and turned to him.

"What are you going to do with the lotion?"

"Drink it of course. That germ carrier aka Lauren just shoved her gross saliva covered tongue down my throat, who knows what ghastly diseases I've contracted. I'm becoming light headed so I need this lotion fast Alice; the germs are already destroying my body."

"Stop being an idiot." I told him as I sat down on the wall a few feet from him. Edward coughed slightly then his eyes grew huge.

"Oh my god I feel a cough coming on. A cough! Alice I have a cough!" How am I related to this lunatic? I stood up and slapped him across the face, hopefully knocking some sense into him.

"Did you just hit me?" He asked looking completely astounded.

"Oh my god." I cried as I put my face in my hands.

"So here I am, your loving brother and you go and hit me on my death bed. Some sister you are!" He proclaimed as I collapsed against Bella who was laughing at our antics.

"That's it, if neither of you will help me I'll have to take matters into my own hands." He rooted around his bag and pulled out a small flask.

"What's that?" Bella asked admiring the engraved silver liquor flask that Edward was opening.

"Alcohol. It can kill germs so hopefully it will kill the ones I just received by trading saliva with that virus magnet."

He pulled the top off and poured half of it in his mouth. Then he did what you normally do with mouthwash and rinsed out his mouth, gurgled the alcohol then spat in a bush a few feet away. Edward then drank the rest and returned the flask to his bag.

"What alcohol was in there Edward?" I asked suspiciously, my brother can't exactly hold his liquor. Light-weight!

"That was a flask of Dalmore 50 year old Decanter- single highland scotch malt whisky. If that can't cure me then I don't know what can." I stood there gaping at him.

"Edward that's a £5000 a bottle whisky and it's 52 percent pure alcohol! Are you trying to get drunk?!" I screeched.

"Of course not Alice. Don't be silly." He tried to sit down on the wall but missed and went straight over it, landing with a thump in the bush on the other side. Bella and I raced to see if he was alright but he was giggling his arse off.

Today is going to be _very _long.


	9. Chapter 9: Drunken Words Sober Thoughts

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Nine: Drunken Words, Sober Thoughts**

**5th February**

**4 Months 3 Weeks & 6 Days Left**

_Bella's POV_

After Edward fell off the wall Alice and I raced down to check on him. He was lying in a heap, completely demolishing the bush, giggling away at what just happened. I never thought I'd ever hear him giggle; it's just not something Edward would do.

"Edward, are you alright?" Alice asked, helping me prop him up against the wall. He nodded and slightly slumped down again. "You look after him; I'm going to get some food. The alcohol will get into his blood far too quickly with an empty stomach which will just make him more drunk. Believe me when I say we don't want that."

Alice left quickly leaving me alone with tipsy Edward. I managed to get him settled and sat down on the ground next to him. We both looked at each other then away quickly like we had been caught doing something we shouldn't. I sighed at how weird this is going to get- we still have months together. My mind is not helping matters either; all I'm doing is replaying what Alice said in the lunch hall about Edward being Jealous.

I don't think that Edward could be jealous, what's he meant to be jealous about? It's not as though he likes me that is completely not possible. He's rich, I'm not. He's gorgeous, I'm not. He has a title and an amazing inheritance, I don't. We just do not fit together.

"So...you look nice." Edward said just sitting there nodding at me. For some reason I blushed, who knows why?

"Well thanks. You look...drunk." That's the only way I could describe him. Just looking at him gave away that he was way past use. I wouldn't be surprised if he started slurring his words.

"Thanks. I wasn't going for that look but I'll settle for it. It's hot here, are you hot?" He started pulling at the collar of his shirt, trying to fan some air on himself.

"No I'm not hot." I said shaking my head.

"Well I certainly disagree on that. I would say you're very hot-" I coughed not wanting to hear the rest of that sentence. I still tried to ignore it but ended up blushing any way. "Nope I'm definitely too hot." He started unbuttoning his shirt. There was no way in hell I was going to let him take that off.

"Edward please keep your clothes on." I told him adamantly. He waved me away and worked on the fourth button. From here I had a perfect view of his upper chest and although I would love to see the rest of it, I know it could become chaos.

"Everything will be fine Bella." I put my hands over buttoned his shirt. "Oh come on its hot!" He whined.

"No you need to keep this on."

"No!" He told me stubbornly.

"We are not having this argument." I had buttoned the top two as he had undone the rest.

This was becoming a little squabble between the two of us. I had to move round to get to the rest of the buttons. He kept protesting but I wasn't listening anymore. Somehow in all the struggling that was going on I ended up on his lap. Not quite sure what happened there but he didn't complain and I wasn't going to move until I was sure his shirt would stay on. If it came off and I'm still straddling him who knows what I'll do.

"Bella, stop it!" He was now acting like a petulant child.

"No you need to keep this on!" I argued and continued my attempt to do up the buttons. Suddenly I was practically shoved off of Edward and landed next to him as he tried to flee out of the bushes. "Edward! Edward get your ass back here now!" I called after him, trying to get back on my feet.

"Never!" He cried and I saw his blue shirt fly above the wall when he threw it off.

"Bella!" I turned to see Alice looking at me with her eyebrows raised. She was standing up by the wall holding his shirt; well I can definitely see how this looks bad. I walked round to stand next to her, hoping to see some sign of Edward.

"Please tell me how he escaped you and why he is removing his clothing?" Alice said handing me the shirt.

"He said he was hot, I tried to stop him but he just ran away shrieking and stripping." I explained. She sighed and we both headed off to retrieve the drunk and disorderly Edward.

We found him sitting so casually against a way; you'd think he was sober and posing with how calm and relaxed he looked.

"Put this on you moron." Alice said handing him his shirt.

"No!"He said defiantly.

"Fine then. You give me no other option." Alice whipped out her cell phone and dialled a number before putting the phone on loudspeaker.

"Hey Alice." I booming voice came over the line.

"Hi Emmett. I was wondering if you could do me a favour."

"Sure, anything. What is it?"

"You know Edward's car..."She had an evil glint in her eyes. Edward saw it too as he glared at her but his eyes still held some panic and shock to them.

"The Volvo."

"Yeah. Well I was wondering if you could donate it to-" Edward was off the ground, shirt whipped on and spoke to Emmett.

"Hey it's Edward here. Alice was just kidding around; you don't need to do anything to my car. In fact don't touch it, don't even look at it. Okay?"The guy on the other end laughed loudly.

"What did she get you to do Eddie?"

"Put on a shirt. We have to go. Remember, don't touch my car." Edward shut the cell phone and put it in his pocket. "Happy now?"

"Yep." Alice beamed. Unfortunately we were then rudely interrupted by a loud holler.

"EDDIE!" Lauren screeched could this girl not leave us alone?

Edward turned to look at her, eyes wide with horror when he saw who it was. Lauren held her arms out for a hug and kiss but Edward had other ideas.

He screamed like a little girl, right in her face. It was a blood-curdling scream that chilled you straight to your bones.

Lauren stepped back horrified as Edward sprinted away screaming:

"THE GERMS ARE GOING TO GET ME!"

Alice was pissing herself laughing at what happened, completely understandable since Lauren's face was priceless. Said scowling girl stomped off angry as hell, no doubt plotting something. I had to leave Alice supporting herself against the wall so I could go make sure Edward was okay.

Who knows what he'll be up to now.

I rounded the corner, looking everywhere for any traces of where he could have gone then saw him at the end of the hall, arguing with one of the Math teachers. I walked swiftly up to them, trying to find out if they knew he was drunk.

"Excuse me, Mr Cullen-" By this time I was standing by Edward's side.

"No, no, no, not Mr Cullen. What you meant to say was The Most Honourable The Marquess of Cambridge, then you can add on Cullen if you want. Now let's try again." Edward pointed at the teacher flamboyantly which made things worse.

"Enough of your cheek Mr-"

"No! No! No! Try again!" I grabbed Edward's sleeve before he could whip out his hand to point again.

"Fine! The Most Honourable The Marquess of Cambridge Edward Cullen are you drunk?!"

"Absolutely not you blundering fool!"It would have been believable if he hadn't have slurred on blundering. The teacher was evidently pissed off and it came as no surprise that he asked Edward to leave the school premises immediately, they would be talking to his parents about this. I decided to leave with him since him getting home by himself would be a disaster in the making.

Edward slouched in the back of the car eating the food Alice fetched earlier when he decided to show the world his chest. Neither of us said anything, it's kind of hard to talk when you're chewing, so settled for the comfortable silence that consumed the car.

The food seemed to calm him down a bit.

But not completely.

When I got him into the house and up in his room the chatty Edward came back. Lying him down and putting a bucket next to the bed I headed for the door, only to be called back.

"Bella, I'm not tired!" He whined. "Can we play a game?" He asked smiling at the ceiling. I chuckled at how weird this situation was. I have a drunken Adonis lying two feet away from me.

"No I'm afraid not Edward. You need to sleep and hopefully get some of this alcohol out your system so you're still not drunk when Charlie gets home."

"Okay then, I'll lie here but can you stay too. I don't want to be alone. It's cold." I have no idea what the room temperature had to do with anything but I went over to him and sat on the edge of the bed. He lifted back the covers, which he had settled in nicely, and offered for me to get in. If it wasn't for that cute little look he was giving me I would have come to my senses and left sooner.

Damn him and his cuteness.

Sighing I crawled into the bed with him, he pulled me against his chest keeping me close.

"You're warm." He whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "You also have the softest skin." This time he was making me incoherent by gently grazing the back of my neck with his hand.

"Enough of that. Keep your hands to yourself." He sighed but agreed. Then he kissed my neck causing me to shriek. "What are you doing Edward?!" I asked, my voice shaky and all over the place.

"You told me to keep my hands to myself but not my lips." They returned to my neck."I've thought about this all week and I have to say I love the taste of your skin." I was blushing at least three shades of red when he moved slightly and I could feel just how much he was loving it pressed against my thigh.

"No you have to stop." I pushed him slightly but he came at me with his lips again.

"I don't think you want to stop." He grinned cheekily and I knew my defences were falling. "I want you Bella. I need you. I swear that England is going to run out of cold water if we don't do this. My frustration levels are hitting their max and there is only so much one guy could take." He looked deep in my eyes again, now leaning over me.

"I want you." He whispered before leaning down to capture my lips in his.

I was a goner. He was telling me everything I wanted to hear but there was only one problem.

He was drunk.

This wasn't the Edward I knew. This was drunken Edward, clumsy Edward, screeching Edward. The drama queen. Not the Edward who argued and fought with me over everything and anything, not the Edward who likes Lauren, and not the Edward who thinks I'm common.

Before it was too late I moved my head quickly. His lips crashed against the pillow rather than on mine. Realising what had just happened Edward sat up away from me and allowed me to leave the room.

"Why wouldn't you let me kiss you?" He asked when my hand was on the door handle.

"You're drunk."

"Well you know what they say 'Drunken words are sober thoughts'" He smiled softly at me but I just shook my head and left.

To most people that statement could be applied to but not Edward. He cared about what people thought of him and by kissing me he would be no doubt ridiculed for kissing a common girl.

Princes fall for Princesses, Dukes fall for Duchesses, Marquess fall for Marchionesses – NOT common girls like me.


	10. Chapter 10: Caught In Her Web

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Ten: Caught In Her Web**

**6th February **

**4 Months 3 Weeks & 5 Days Left**

_Edward's POV_

I woke up hungry and with a serious hangover. It was six am and I was beat. My head felt like it had been hit by a train. Everything felt wrong and weird as I scrambled out of bed. I put on a t-shirt and went downstairs for a glass of water and some Paracetamol to get rid of the headache.

Surprisingly I wasn't the only one up. Both Alice and Bella were sitting at the kitchen table with mugs in their hands chatting away. When I came into view they both shared knowing glances and tried to hide their smiles. Okay, what did I do?

Alice and I both know from past experiences that I can't hold my liquor. I get exceedingly flamboyant and do stupid things embarrassing myself completely. It just sucks that I can't remember what I did. Of course those two would probably make some stuff up just to confuse me but since I have a slight memory, hazy as it is, of what happened hopefully I won't be fooled.

"Morning." I mumbled getting a glass out of the cupboard.

"Morning." They cried in unison. I cringed at how high pitched Alice said that, my head was seriously going to explode. Filling the glass with water from the faucet, who ever thought I would be drinking tap water, I asked if Bella had anything to relieve my pain.

She wandered over to another cupboard and I finally had a chance to take in her appearance. Her hair was ruffled but just made her look cute; she was wearing a red tank top with black shorts which showed off her legs. It may be six in the morning and from the looks of things she's just rolled out of bed but she looks amazing.

Alice's accusing cough and raised eyebrow brought me out of my perusal of Bella's body. I blushed under my sisters gaze, she knew what I was doing which means I'll never hear the end of this. Bella placed the Paracetamol on the table so I sat down to join them; this is where I'll find out what I did whilst drunk.

After swallowing the tablets and finishing off the water I looked at them expectantly.

"So tell me, what did I do?" I asked, Alice's smile came back but Bella just looked nervous now.

"How much do you remember?" Alice asked bringing her mug to her mouth, hiding the smirk.

"I can recall taking off clothes although I don't know which ones, I think I remember someone scary, and did I...did I kiss someone?" I asked confused.

"You only took of your shirt, thank God; the scary person was Lauren who you also kissed." I shook my head. Alice was wrong about the last bit.

"No that's not right. I didn't see the scary person after I ran away from them. Who did I kiss?" Bella sighed.

"You never kissed anyone, on the lips; you tried to but didn't succeed." I looked at her completely lost now. Alice was staring at her intently; you could just see the wheels turning in that head of hers.

"Who did he try to kiss, Bella?" It sounded more of an accusation rather than a question. I groaned inwardly when some of it came back. I tried to kiss her, what must she think of me now? Bella blushed slightly under Alice's gaze but just excused herself saying she needed to get ready. The sly grin on my sister's face told me she noticed Bella never answered the question.

"So you kissed her?" Alice asked, eyebrows raised and a small smirk.

"Apparently not." I said hoping she would drop this.

"Okay then, let me try again. So you kissed her, just not on the lips?" I frowned but nodded.

"So she says."

"Do you think she's lying?" I shook my head and bit my lip.

"I know how friendly I get when drunk. I wouldn't be surprised if I insinuated that I wanted to sleep with her."Alice smirked.

"So you like her then, are you finally willing to admit it?" I stood up to head upstairs and take a shower- preferably cold- the image of Bella in those shorts still fresh in my mind.

"No, we're friends that's it." She didn't believe me an, honestly, neither did I but what the heck. It's not like anything is going to happen. If Bella liked me she would have let me kiss her. I guess that just proves that we really are just friends and nothing more.

**10th February**

**4 Months 3 Weeks & 2 Days Left**

I was still weary of Bella after my drunken antics. We avoided each other more than ever; I couldn't even work up the energy to get jealous knowing that nothing would ever happen between us.

If someone had told me before I came on this exchange that I would end up daydreaming about the girl we're staying with I would have laughed in their face. I, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen do not do relationships or commitment. But here I am, watching her across the lunch hall joke around with Angela, thinking I would commit with her. If I had the chance.

It really sucks. Plus I've never felt this way before so I don't know how to deal with it. Usually if I snapped my fingers girls would come running and I never had to worry. There was never a challenge, plus those girls are just husband shopping so have to suck up to me, but Bella doesn't and that makes everything different.

I've never come across a girl who doesn't have to be nice to me. They all want my approval, and proposal, but she doesn't. I do feel saddened by that but things are different here, I'm different here too. If I was like the Edward back home I wouldn't be thinking like this. I would be wondering what airhead is about to come over and flirt, not about why one girl wouldn't want to flirt with me.

To pass the time this week I have found myself cooped up inside one of the stuffy music rooms practising my compositions, flirting shamelessly with anyone but Lauren (who is scared to come near me, thank the Lord! I should have screamed at her sooner), calling home just to speak to someone familiar again, and avoiding the boyfriends of the girls I was flirting with.

Sitting in the lunch hall watching my fellow students was my lunch past time though. I got to see who interacted with everyone else and how they interacted. I could pick out every fake girl in the student body, all the players who thought they were _the _sex, the loose girls who flirted shamelessly- I met most of them earlier this week, and the invisibles who stayed out of everyone's way.

In my mind I would have put Bella as an invisible, due to her personality, but she seemed to be in with a pretty popular crowd that demanded attention and was given it. It didn't make sense to me why she hung around most of them since she didn't really like them.

Then again, who am I to talk? I'm probably one of the fakest people in the room. It's better to lie and be polite than tell the truth and be rude. Or so my etiquette teacher informed me.

Wincing as I stood up I quickly made my way out the lunch hall to go back to the music department. I had a free period next so was going to enjoy my time there. It became the best place to avoid the pissed off boyfriends I mentioned earlier.

Unfortunately they knew where to look for me. A group of four guys were lingering outside the music department doors talking quietly, which turned to silence when I approached. Knowing that either way I was going to receive a few punches I just ignored them and walked straight into the corridor, heading to my own sanctuary in this ghastly school.

"So what can I do for you today?" I asked as they followed me in. The one that I named Hook, I have no idea what his name is but he throws a hell of a right hook so I thought it was appropriate, answered back coldly.

"You did it again."

"Did what?" I faked my innocence but knew what they were referring to. Sorry but it's hard to know who is dating who when they break up after two days. How was I to know those girls were 'theirs'?

"Look Cambridge we gave you a warning and a preview of what would happen if you went near our girlfriends again. So imagine my surprise when we saw you hitting on them yesterday. You're nothing but a stuck up rich asshole that can't find a girl for himself and has to steal other guys girlfriends. We're sick of it so cut it out." He warned, I couldn't help but chuckled about how pathetic this was.

Yes they did give me a preview of what would happen if I went near their girlfriends and yes, it hurt like hell. Apparently punching a guy in the ribs a few times is an incentive to stay away from said girlfriends. Now don't mistake me for some wimp who just stood there and took that, I tried to fight back but it was four against one, my chances were very slim. I did though get in a good kick, I wonder if the smaller guy will be able to have kids after that.

"So what are you going to about it?" I couldn't help but ask. That was the only invitation they needed. I actually was quite surprised by how fast they jumped me; I thought I had a few more seconds to at least put up a fight.

I ended up on the ground again, if they get this shirt dirty I'm sending them my dry cleaning bill, for some reason they didn't hit the face. I was glad since it wouldn't draw attention to it but not completely chuffed since there are only so many places they can hit, or kick as my ribs found out.

The only defence I had were my legs, my arms were wrapped around my chest. I got in a few good kicks but by the time they were done I had definitely lost that battle. They left quickly like they usually do and I winced as I propped myself against the wall.

Granted it hurt like hell but I wonder how they'll react when I get Emmett and Jasper down here to help me out. I can't wait to see their faces. It will still be four against three but Emmett is so huge that he counts as two guys so it's about even.

I carefully stood up, supporting myself against the wall; maybe it would have been better if they hit the face. The main door to the music department opened and at first thought they were coming back for round two but was pleasantly surprised when Bella entered, smiling gracefully.

"Hey." She said as I tried to stand like I hadn't just had the shit kicked out of me. It was working, she never noticed anything.

"Hi." I smiled, somewhat painfully. My ribs felt like they were broken, I'm probably exaggerating but I was in immense pain.

"I heard you come here to play and I was wondering if I could listen." She asked shyly. I nodded and indicated for her to enter the room while I tried to even out and stable myself without cringing as I took breathes.

I sat down at the piano bench, Bella sat beside me which made my heart race just to have her this close again. After playing one piece and half way through the second one she put her hand on mine, stopping my playing immediately. She hadn't so much as moved since I started playing so I knew she wanted something.

"I'm sorry for avoiding you this week. I didn't quite know how to act around you after you were drunk. Let's just say you surprised me." Her hand still hadn't moved off mine as she spoke slowly.

"I'm sorry too, for trying to kiss you. But I'm curious..." She looked at me with a soft smile, oh how I long to kiss her. "...you said I kissed you but not on the lips, so where?"

"My neck." She pointed up at herself as I nodded. Hey at least it wasn't her chest or anything like that, knowing me there would be no stopping if I got there. It wasn't as bad as I thought and I had to say I was relieved by what she just said. "So are we still friends?" She asked smiling brightly now.

"Yeah. Still friends." She leaned forward and wrapped her arms round my chest, giving me a hug. Although it felt like I was dying I returned it. If I had died then I'm sure I would have been happy, especially with this angel in my arms. Bella let go of me and stood up, she kissed my cheek then left.

Every day my heart falls deeper and deeper into the web she's weaved around it.

This is so bad.


	11. Chapter 11: So Close

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter** **Eleven: So Close**

**13th February**

**4 Months 2 Weeks & 6 Days Left**

_Bella's POV_

Alice had left Edward and me alone together. It's safe to say that I was petrified. We were friends but...I wanted more. I find him hard to resist, especially when he tried to kiss me. I would have kissed him if he was sober. But I guess that's the problem, he wouldn't want to kiss me when he was sober. He would only do it if he was drunk.

When I went to see him in the music department and gave him a hug I never wanted to let go. He smelled so good and I felt safe in his arms. Things here are really starting to suck. I can't help think that I'm wasting my time by even thinking about him this way since he has told me he's not going to date anyone. There's no point, we'll just be friends.

I guess that's good but not brilliant. Then again I should just be happy that we are anything to each other. So anyway, Alice left us home alone. At first we just sort of sat at the kitchen table eating dinner awkwardly not speaking then after we cleaned up we sat in silence for about five minutes then decided that we would watch a movie.

That was probably the worst idea I had. We ended up sitting in the dark, alone, on the couch with a few centimetres between us, and it turns out we were watching a horror movie. About an hour and a half there was a really gruesome bit which I freaked out at and practically leapt on him. He yelped and winced which was odd, Edward noticed that I was frowning at him after that.

"Can I try something?" I asked apprehensively. Edward nodded slowly. I still had my arms wrapped round his chest but lightly increased the pressure causing him to wince again. He was in pain that much was obvious.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Edward excused himself and practically ran up the stairs before I had a chance to even speak to him. Turning off the television and turning on some lights I headed up stairs after him.

"Edward?" I called, trying to find him. The door to his room was open slightly so I stuck my head round it and sucked in a breath with what I saw. He had lifted up his shirt and was softly pressing against the purple and blue bruises littered across his chest.

"What happened to you?" I asked walking straight in to the room. Edward dropped his shirt and smiled innocently like nothing was wrong. "Don't try that. I saw the bruises and I know you're in pain, so tell me. What happened?" He sighed but eventually realised it was pointless to argue with me.

"I just got in a few fights. It's nothing Bella, I promise." I walked up to him and held the end of his shirt.

"May I?" He opened his mouth to refuse but just nodded. I undid the buttons on his shirt and slowly slid it off his shoulders where it fell to the ground.

I hadn't looked at his chest yet, instead my eyes were locked with his. He doesn't like to show weakness so this was a big step for him. I put my hand out, still not looking where, and lightly pressed against his cold chest, just like before he winced. Glancing down I noticed he had old and fresh bruises. They were easy to differentiate between at the fresh ones were a dark purple and blue colour whereas the old ones were slightly yellowing against his pale skin.

"Does it hurt?" The question came out as a whisper. I have no idea why I suddenly felt the need to talk quietly.

"Only slightly."

"How long have you had these?" This time I was inspecting him, they were mostly on his front, very few on his back.

"A while." I could see I wasn't going to get much cooperation from him here.

"How about a real answer Edward?"

"Why do you care?" He snapped. I looked back into his eyes slightly hurt by his irritation. I just wanted to check if he was okay, these looked bloody sore. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You know what; I'm just going to go." I reached out and grabbed his arms to stop him.

"I care because I like you." Who knows where the confidence came from to say that? He paused immediately and looked quickly into my eyes.

"I like you too." My heart was racing; I wouldn't be surprised if he could hear it. "We're good friends." Then it died in my chest. He literally just broke it right there and then. I didn't know what to say so just nodded.

"I'll go get you some ice, perhaps to just help the bruising." He nodded so I left the room. It allowed me time to just recuperate.

_Edward's POV_

I can't believe I just told her I liked her. That was probably the most foolish thing I could have ever done at that moment. Thank God I added in the friends part or I truly would have freaked her out. I could never admit to her that she means more to me than just a friend. Maybe that was how things were to begin with but not now.

I'm falling fast and it's scary. This shouldn't be happening. I've had great control over my feelings for years. No one has been able to penetrate through the walls that protected my heart. Except her. She's worming her way in there and I can't help but let her.

To be honest I never wanted Bella to know about the bruises I had received. It makes me look pathetic and I couldn't stand that. I don't know, maybe it's my ego that's just worried; I don't want to appear weak in front of her.

Bella came back in to the room and joined me on the bed where I had sat down. She had an ice pack wrapped in a dishcloth so it wasn't too cold to hold. I sat there looking at her as she inspected the bruises to see which were the worst then held the icepack against them. Knowing me I wouldn't be able to hold it there very long, it was bloody freezing.

I was watching her with curiosity, why can't we be anything more? What don't I have that she wants? What could I give to her to show that I like her and that I really care about her? She's so kind and caring that I can't help be awed by her presence.

Without any warning she reached up with her other hand and brushed my hair away from my face. After realising what she did she blushed.

"Sorry Edward, that bit of hair was annoying me."

"It's okay." It was better than okay, just to have her feel comfortable enough to do that to me is amazing.

"So who gave you these?"

"Just a bunch of guys. Their girlfriends like me but they're not so keen, I wonder why?" She smirked but shook her head.

"In that case you deserved these bruises." I smirked but nodded. She was right, I did. Well maybe not all of them. I had stopped flirting with those girls this week but still got given almighty bruises.

"You don't want to talk about it do you?" She could read me like a book but I could never read her. I was a mess, not knowing what to expect next, not knowing what she was going to say next.

"Not really no." She nodded and smiled softly. Does she have to do that? It completely shuts down all coherent thoughts.

"Okay. But just one more question, please?" How could I deny her anything?

"Go ahead."

"Does Alice know about these?" I shook my head and sighed.

"I don't want her knowing either. She would completely freak out and I don't want that. I can take care of myself and I already know how to get even."

"Why not just leave it, if you try to get even then they'll just keep doing it." She said softly, trying not to push my limits.

"I stopped flirting with their girlfriends last week. So image my surprise when they found me on Monday and decided I hadn't learnt my lesson yet. They won't stop until I fight back but four against one is rather hard." She nodded and licked her lips before biting the bottom one.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." She licked her lips again and just out of instinct I did the same. I wanted her, it didn't help that she had her hand on my chest either, granted the ice was kinda keeping things at bay but I still had the desire to kiss her senseless.

Bella moved the icepack to another bruise, breaking me out of my trance. I shivered due to the cold; yeah it was definitely keeping things at bay.

"Sorry about the cold, I promise it will help though."

"It's okay. So what are you doing tomorrow?"

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"Well it is Valentine's day. What no hot date?"

"Definitely not. Who would ask me out?" Me.

"Lots of guys. Come on Bella don't play innocent, guys like you its obvious."

"No I think you're mistaking me for Lauren or Jessica." What was she talking about? They are nothing compared to her.

"No definitely not. You're beautiful, they're not." She blushed under my gaze but she had no reason to. Everything I said was true. How could she even doubt me?

"So what are you doing tomorrow?" I allowed her to change the subject but had intentions to return there later.

"Well there is the Valentine's Day ball your school is holding. I was invited to that."

"By?"

"Jessica." But I want to go with you.

"Oh, I didn't know you two were getting close." She was looking at my bruises again, avoiding eye contact.

"We're not exactly. She just wanted me to go. Are you going?" Please say yes.

"Does Alice know about this ball?" I nodded; my sister was the one that practically forced me to go. "Then yeah, I'll be going. I promised her she could dress me up and make me look pretty." She smiled but there was a slight hint of dread on her face. My sister can do that.

"Are you going with anyone?" If you say no then I'll take you.

"I think Alice has set me with Jacob." That rat bastar- "What would you usually do back home?" Her question broke my thought.

"Eh...there is usually a big party then after we would head back to our house and have drinks and play cards. Every year Emmett tries to get us to play strip poker but since its three guys and two girls we never play. If there is a ball or event when you're there believe me when I say that you'll be rigged into playing." She laughed but shook her head.

"I don't think that will happen. I'll save everyone's eyes from burning by keeping my clothes on thank you." I chuckled, she has to be kidding. God only knows what I would do to see her in her underwear again. If we keep going like this I'm going to have to go for another cold shower.

Bella licked her lips, that's driving me insane and is going to lead to me self-destruction. I moved the ice and hands off of my chest and leant closer to her. I reached my hand up and brushed her hair away from her face. This was it, no going back, I'll kiss her.

"Edward..." She breathed out hoarsely. Slowly I leant closer, just anticipating brushing my lips against hers.

I was less than a centimetre away and could feel her breath against my skin. Just as I leant forward to kiss her the main door shut downstairs and she turned her head. My caught the very edge of hers before we looked at each other, knowing that Alice was downstairs.

"I better go see her." Bella whispered. I nodded and let her walk away from me. The second the door closed I groaned inwardly.

Why didn't I kiss her?!

Little did I know Bella was on the other side of the door thinking the exact same thing.


	12. Chapter 12: Stuck In An Elevator

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twelve: Stuck In An Elevator**

**14th February**

**4 Months 2 Weeks & 5 Days Left**

_Alice's POV_

Today is the day, my plans are in motion, I expect to see some results. Some romance results. Even though Edward has told me not to meddle in other people's affairs I just can't help myself from playing cupid today. I'm also rather excited because Jasper is going to be here and he can help me.

Edward is going to be on alert, waiting for me to do something so I'm going to have to have my wits about me. Maybe Jasper will be able to distract him or once I get Bella in her dress that will be enough of a distraction for Edward to forget what a scheming sister he has.

After we arrived home from school around about five o'clock I dragged Bella upstairs to help her get ready. I had an hour and a half to bring out the beautiful Bella that hides below everything else. She had to knock my brother off his feet if this was going to work.

Of course she kicked up a fuss but eventually we came to a mutual understanding that I would be doing this whether she wanted it or not. Somehow we ended up behind schedule and started running a little late. I had Bella shower, in her dress, make up done, and almost ready to go but then we started squabbling over her hair. She wanted it up but I insisted she have it down. I know the effect it has on Edward when she brushes it over her shoulder; he completely loses all coherent thoughts.

I was going to have her dazzle him tonight whether she likes it or not.

I won the battle about Bella's hair and managed to convince her that it would be better down but we had wasted ten minutes on this debate. Eventually she was ready but we only had half an hour left. For that time I refused to allow Bella to go downstairs. When my brother saw her I wanted him to be speechless and see him fluster. I was not going to miss that.

About ten minutes before we had to leave I went to check on Edward. The dress code for this ball was formal suits for guys and formal dresses for girls. So naturally I wanted to see if my brother was going to render Bella speechless.

I knocked on his door then entered to see him messing about with his tie. For all of his many talents Edward can't seem to tie a tie properly. He just messes it up and that causes him to get frustrated. I couldn't have him angry tonight. This was a night of romance.

"Hey." I said, wandering over to help him.

"Hi. You look nice." He said as he handed me his tie. If I wasn't here he wouldn't have worn one at all.

"So do you." I folded up his collar and started tying his tie.

"How does Bella look?" I smirked; maybe I wouldn't need to interfere as much as I planned.

"If you wait about five minutes you can see for yourself." He checked his tie in the mirror then nodded his thanks. "Now go downstairs and wait for us to come down."

"Where are we meeting Jasper?" He asked at the door.

"He's going to meet us there." Edward nodded then went downstairs.

It was time for Bella to knock him dead.

_Edward's POV_

I sat downstairs waiting for Alice and Bella to come down so we could go. To say I was bored would be an understatement. I didn't want to go to this thing tonight. After last night I can't stand to be around Bella. All I want to do is kiss her senseless but I know that would not be wise. I don't think Bella would really appreciate me just grabbing and kissing her.

Alice bounced down the stairs smirking at me then hoisted me off the couch so I was standing. I started complaining and whining to Alice when Bella walked down the stairs wearing a wonderful blue dress that hugged to her body beautifully. The second I saw her my breath caught in my throat. She looked fantastic. Absolutely amazing.

"Well?" She asked softly.

"I think you look tremendous. Don't you agree Edward?" Alice asked smiling brightly at me. But I couldn't even register her question.

"I...uh...em...you...eh." Was all I could get out. Alice giggled and entwined her arm with Bella's as they walked out of the room to leave.

"By the way Edward, you look good." Bella said over her shoulder as they left.

I looked good.

I looked good!

There was a sudden rush of feelings and I have no idea why. She thought I looked good and that made me feel great just to have her approval. I'm seriously losing my mind if I feel like cheering when she only said I looked good.

After regaining myself I followed out of the house and got in the car. Bella was driving and Alice was in the front. Throughout the entire journey they chatted away as I sat in the back watching Bella in the rear view mirror.

To my surprise the event was not being held at the school. Instead it was being held in a reception hall in the middle of the city. Arriving at the location we all headed inside. My sister sprinted away when she saw Jasper and hugged and kissed him like she hadn't seen him in weeks when she only saw him yesterday.

After they stopped practically molesting each other in front of the building we walked into the reception area. Not many other students were around as we were late so we headed for the elevator to take us to the ball.

"You guys take the first elevator; we'll get the next one." Alice told Bella and me too eagerly. Bella didn't seem to notice though and stepped in. I joined her so it wasn't clear I was awkward with her.

The doors shut and we stood there in silence. We were going to the third floor and just after we reached the second floor the lights went out and the elevator stopped completely. Neither of us moved and after a few seconds the emergency lights went on. A light red tint came over the elevator from the lights as we waited to see what was going on. Eventually we both sat down, on opposite ends and glanced around, waiting for something to happen.

"So how long do you think we'll be stuck here?" Bella asked, trying to take the creases out of her dress.

"Em...hopefully only a few more minutes. If not it's going to get exceedingly hot in here. You aren't claustrophobic are you?" She shook her head.

"Are you?" Bella asked.

"No." She smirked and looked like she was thinking deeply. "What is it?"

"I just thought you would be." She had me confused there.

"Why?" I pondered.

"Well you seem to panic in most situations. I just would have expected you to panic here." I chuckled and shook my head again. "So what do we do now?"

"What do you want to do?" What is there to do in an overheated elevator during a power cut?

"I don't know. I guess I'm just bored with the idea of sitting here doing nothing." She shrugged which brought my eyes to over to pursue her body once more. It suddenly became _very _hot in here, and not due to the temperature. I removed my tie and undid the top two buttons of my shirt, trying to get some air to my neck.

"Are you hot?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. Definitely."

"I haven't noticed."

Now it's hard to stay focused on anything but the girl that encourages you to take cold showers every morning when there is nothing else to focus on. All I had to look at was Bella and that was not to be advised when I was already feeling flustered.

"You look...brilliant by the way." She blushed under my gaze.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"So if you could be stuck in here with anyone who would it be?" Bella asked out of the blue. I smirked honestly thinking that's not what she would say next.

"Eh...I don't know." I shrugged, she caught me off guard.

"You must know. Come on, anyone. Well let's just say anyone you already know. So who?"

"I'm fine here with you." She smiled shaking her head.

"I don't believe you. Out of everyone you know it's got to be someone other than me."

"No I'm content here. You know when to be quiet or when to talk. You don't drive me mad and make me irritated. So yeah, I'm fine." She smirked after I finished.

"I'm glad to know you don't fine me irritating and I talk when you see fit." She teased.

"It's not like that. Let's just say when you grow up around Alice-" I stopped mid sentence thinking about my sister. She seemed far too eager for us to take the first elevator. I started chuckling at what she was doing.

My sister is playing matchmaker again. Last time she tried that I was set up with a girl who started petting me like a dog before we had had a starter. Stupid bloody pixie thinking she can play cupid on Valentine's Day.

"When you grow up around Alice..." Bella prompted at me, confused why I cut off.

"Oh right yeah, sorry. When you grow up around Alice you are surrounded by her constant cheer and bouncy attitude to things. After a while it takes its toll and you start to get irritated easily." She smirked.

"I guess that's understandable, she can be a little eccentric."

I shrugged off my jacket and rolled my sleeves up to my elbows as Bella fanned herself with her hand. The elevator was getting hotter by the second.

"Okay yeah, it's definitely heating up in here." She said sighing. "You're so damn lucky you can take some clothing off."

"What's stopping you?" I asked smirking. She smiled and shook her head.

"I'll save you the agony by keeping my clothes on thank you very much. Plus I'm only wearing this dress and my underwear-"

"So?" She laughed and shook her head again.

"Nope you're not going to get me out of this dress Edward."

"I think I could if I tried." She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Don't get to cocky Mr C-" She cut off and frowned. "I can't call you Mr can I?" I shook my head. "Oh well. Still don't get too cocky. You're powers of seduction aren't that great." She teased.

"What makes you say that?"I asked, playing along.

"Well if you really wanted me out of this dress you would have kissed me last night whether Alice was downstairs or not." I smirked and shook my head.

"As I remember, you ran away from me. Plus you turned away first."

"But if you really wanted it you could have just turned my head back and kissed me."

"Did you want me to kiss you Bella? Wait sorry let me rephrase that. _Do _you want me to kiss you Bella?" She blushed about three shades of red and bit her lip.

"No." She squeaked. I chuckled and she smiled. "That's just mean making a girl flustered like that."

"I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say, you're not dying of heat stroke over here." I rolled my eyes and saw her smile. This night wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it wasn't as awkward as I expected either.

I stood up to stretch my legs; the right one was beginning to fall asleep. It was getting rather uncomfortable down there. Bella saw me stretch then held out her hands for me to pull her up. In doing so I was a little closer than I expected to her.

She glanced up nervously then looked back at her hands, which I was still holding. I dropped them immediately feeling a chill run up my spine. Bella's arm was covered in goose bumps so I could only imagine she was cold. I grabbed my jacket and handed it to her.

"I'm not cold." She told me.

"Your arms tell me otherwise." She glanced at said arms and blushed again. Reluctantly she took the jacket and put it on; I think it was just to stop me from arguing with her.

The jacket caught her hair under it at the back so she brushed it out with her hand, basically flicking it backward. I was standing close enough to smell the familiar scent of strawberry shampoo. I licked my lips as I looked at her again; she was completely oblivious to this. I wanted her, badly. Who knows, it could be lust talking considering I am a male teenager trapped in a small space with a really beautiful girl, but I wanted to kiss her. This time actually kiss her, not like last night where I just missed.

"Bella." I said softly almost a whisper. She turned to face me; we were still standing so close. My eyes were watching her lips and it was as if she knew, slowly, almost teasingly she licked her lips and looked me in the eye.

I slightly caressed her cheek with my thumb, slightly bringing her closer. There was no way I was going to miss now; no one could interrupt us here. It was like we were drawn to each other. Slowly I brushed my lips against hers, not wanting to let the built up passion escape into a full on kiss that would surprise her. Pulling away I went to move, just leaving her with a light kiss to show her some of my affections towards her.

Instead Bella put her hand on the back of my neck and pulled me closer, kissing me with as much passion as I wanted to kiss her with. I wanted her to open her mouth for me but at the same time didn't want to overwhelm her. The raging teenage hormones were in a war with my gentlemanly side.

Without any warning the lights in the elevator came back on. We both pulled away quickly, both our breathing was slightly all over the place. I stepped back a little and looked at her, the passion burning in her eyes. The teenage hormones were now starting to win.

Before they could the elevator moved up and in a matter of seconds the doors opened. Considering I don't think Bella would want to lose her virtue in an elevator I got the hell out of there. That was truly the best kiss ever though. Maybe i should thank Alice.

_Bella's POV_

The elevator lights turned on breaking the mind blowing kiss I was sharing with him. It was exactly what I wanted. When he pulled away after such a short peck I thought, no, he's not getting away with that. Who knows where the confidence came from but I'm glad it was there or I never would have done that.

I was only glad for a second though, the minute the doors of the elevator opened Edward walked away quickly. It was like he wanted to get away from me as fast as he could. Maybe that kiss was wrong, maybe we shouldn't have, maybe he didn't want to kiss me. From the pace he's travelling at I can just tell he's disgusted by that kiss.

Did I really mean that little to him?


	13. Chapter 13: Cooking & Kissing

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Thirteen: Cooking & Kissing**

**15th February**

**4 Months 2 Weeks & 1 Day Left**

_Alice's POV_

I stormed into Edward's room the following morning after the Valentine's Day party Bella's school was having. Bella started acting weird the second she came out of the elevator and I can only guess that my idiot of a brother had something to do with it. After harassing her to tell me the entire night she caved.

Turns out that my brother is a bigger twat than I thought possible. How the hell could he kiss her then run away? What was he thinking? Well it doesn't matter because I'm about to find out.

Slamming the door shut Edward rolled over slightly startled but not completely awake. He groaned and protested when I tried to wake him up.

"Go away." He groaned again, rolling back over and pulling his covers closer.

"No! You have some explaining to do." He ignored me so I grabbed the closest thing to me that wouldn't cause him too much pain but still get my point across when I beat him with it.

"Alice, for god's sake, bugger off." He moaned as I slapped him again with one of his discarded shirts in a whipping action.

"No. Now explain yourself Edward Anthony Masen Cullen." I hit him again and waited.

"What do you want?" He whined but still not moving.

"You're an asshole!" I hit him with the shirt again.

"Yeah okay, but tell me what I've done wrong now? And can you not hit me with that damn thing the buttons are hurting me." Edward pushed himself up so he was resting against the headboard.

"Why did you run?" I asked, dropping the shirt since he was awake.

"Run where?" He asked confused with what I was going on about.

"Last night with Bella. You kissed her then practically sprinted away." My brother sighed and ran a hand through his dishevelled hair before looking back at me.

"Is she upset?"

"Yes and no. But I'm upset and as her friend I'm going to take my anger out on you until you can fix this."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Tell her why you ran away or at least explain why you kissed her." I thought that much would have been obvious.

"Look Alice you're a great sister and you've always helped me out but for once can you just back off and leave me to get on with my life. This doesn't concern you." He said irritably.

"No Edward I won't back off. I'm not coming here as your sister I am coming here as Bella's friend. You're a jackass for doing that to her. Do you know how it looked? From her opinion, and I completely understand, it makes it seem like you kissed her then regretted it so ran away from her."

"But that's not what happened. I don't regret it." He protested.

"Well that's not obvious to us." I told him pointedly. "Come on Edward imagine if you were her, you really like this girl and she kisses you senseless then the second she has a chance to run she does AND straight into another guy's arms." He sighed after I finished.

"I didn't mean to make it look that way. I didn't want her doing anything she would have regretted. For Christ sakes Alice I'm not allowed to date anyone, it'll only cause problems for the both of us and you know that. It's not like I can date whoever I like when I like. There are rules I have to follow and Bella breaks about every one of them."

"So? Is that really going to stop you, rules? God Edward I wouldn't take you to be so pathetic and a coward. Really, a challenge comes along and what do you do? Put your tail between your legs and cower in the corner." He glared at me, apparently not happy with what I said. What? It was only the truth.

"'That is not what I'm doing." I scoffed.

"Oh right then please explain what you are doing?" He sighed loudly then glared at me.

"I...last night was difficult for me. I kissed her, barely. Then she goes and kisses me how I wanted to kiss her. What am I meant to think? I lik...I don't want this just to be lust taking over. If it is then the next four months are going to be as awkward as hell for everyone. Bella and I are friends, that's all we can be. That kiss...well that was something we shouldn't have done but I definitely don't regret it. I would do it again and again if allowed. You may not understand why I'm shying away from relationships but I do. If I was to start something here I want to know I'll finish it, with Bella, I don't think I would." He ran his hand through his hair and rolled out of the bed. "For once just leave me be, I'll talk to Bella." He left and padded along the hall on his way to shower.

After my little argument with Eddie I went downstairs to find Bella. Apparently we're eating earlier today than usual so she was in the kitchen about to prepare the food. It's not early, Eddie just slept late. Glancing at the clock on the wall I noted it was one o'clock.

"Hey." I said joining Bella at the table.

"Hi." She said glancing up from a cook book. "Are you not going to meet Jasper?"

"Yeah, he'll be here in about ten minutes or so." She nodded and continued to read. "He didn't regret it." I told her, not knowing how to ease into this subject.

"I heard." She mumbled.

"What do you mean?" I don't take her to be an eavesdropper.

"The walls are really thin; I was in the next room doing homework and heard your entire conversation. Its okay Alice, I don't mind. He may not regret it but I sure do." Sometimes I just feel like killing him, now was definitely one of those times.

She should not regret that kiss. From what she said it was one hell of a kiss too. Eddie just needs to get himself sorted out; maybe he'll come round to the idea of Bella and him together when he's 

in a little more deep. I know that he'll start to like her, if he doesn't already, and I know for a fact that she's good for him. She'll keep him in the real world, rather than him retreating to that pompous stuck up rich boy world he loves so dearly.

The doorbell rang to tell me Jasper would be waiting in the car so I said my goodbyes to her before I headed for the door. Just as I reached for the handle Edward came down the stairs looking bored.

"You going out?" He asked softly, good to see his anger has disappeared.

"Yep." He nodded. "Are you doing anything just now?" I asked as an idea just came to me.

"No not really."

"Great." I smiled brightly at him, now he looks slightly worried. Well he shouldn't be it's not like I'm throwing him to the wolves. "You can help Bella. She's going to be cooking for tonight. You're a good cook, help her out."

"I'm sure she has it covered." From his face I can just tell he doesn't want to be in the same room as Bella yet. Well too bad.

"Nonsense. Bella, Edward's going to help you cook dinner." I hollered through. He glared at me, like I care.

"Really?" She asked, more surprised but not good surprised, more dreading surprised. I raised my eyebrows at my brother. He didn't seem to want to cooperate so I brought my phone out and called home.

"Hey mum. No I'm fine. Edward...well now that you mention it-"

"Yeah I'll help you Bella." He called, she said her thanks back and I hung up the phone. "I'm going to destroy that bloody phone of yours." He threatened me.

"Watch that temper and mouth of yours please. Plus I'm only trying to help."

"By telling on me to our mother. You know she would be furious with me if she didn't think I was pulling my weight."

"Exactly. Now get in the kitchen and help. I'll be back later." I kissed him on the cheek, ruffled his hair then left them alone. If this works out he'll be putty in her hands.

_Bella's POV_

I was busy preparing the food in the kitchen when Edward wandered in looking round apprehensively. To be perfectly honest I was very surprised that he was going to help me. It just didn't seem like his sort of thing. Maybe Alice rigged him in to doing it.

"What are we cooking?" He asked, eyeing the ingredients out on the worktop.

"Spaghetti and Meatballs. Is that okay?"

"Yeah that's fine. What do you want me to do?" I looked around for something he could do; I didn't expect him to get too involved in this so I just gave him a task that would keep him out of my way.

"Eh...you could chop up the onion." He nodded and rolled his sleeves to his elbow before washing his hands to chop the onion up.

"Do you want these chopped finely?" I nodded and returned to what I was doing.

This was just awkward. Neither of us wanted to be in the same room as each other so why was he even here. Alice definitely had something to do with it. There was no way Edward would volunteer to be around me at the moment, not after last night.

That stupid bloody kiss that was so good I can't help but think about it, which means I think about Edward and I really don't want to do that. I'm not going to become one of _those_ girls. No, I'm just going to be Bella, his friend. Pfft, cause that's really possible after I practically mauled him.

Good thing the lift opened or I would have jumped him. He looked great and I wanted to kiss him the second I walked down the stairs. It's just not fair. Why out of all the guys that could have stayed here did I get Edward, a living Greek god?

The silence was consuming the room and becoming slowly unbearable. The only time we said anything to each other was when we were passing each other ingredients or trying to get past one another. I should have just told him to go back upstairs; he shouldn't have to do this.

"So what do we do now?" Edward asked as I poured all the ingredients for the meatballs into one big bowl.

"Well I'm going to make the meatballs right now." I answered by the sink, washing my hands.

"Can I help?" He caught me off guard there. I wouldn't think he would want to get his hands dirty.

"Sure." Edward joined me by the sink and since it is quite small we were standing in close proximity of each other. He was technically standing behind me but leaning to the side to reach the soap. I could feel him breathing on the back of my neck, which sent shivers up my spine.

Curse him for having this effect on me.

"So what now?" He asked as we stood by the table where I had placed the big bowl of ingredients.

"We put our hands in there and mix it all together." He looked down at the bowl then back up to me then back down again. After doing this four times he opened his mouth to speak.

"You want me to out my hands in that?" He sounded very bewildered.

"Only if you want to."

"What will it accomplish?"

"The ingredients will mix and we will be able to make meatballs." I was speaking to him like he was a small child misunderstanding the instructions. What was so hard to get here? Put your hands in the bowl, mix the food together, and create meatballs. How is that difficult? I put my hands in and started mixing together while he just looked on.

He slowly put his hands in but his face completely changed as he did so. It looked like he was being violated, and not in a nice way. I thought he was going to gag at one point but he kept his hands in the bowl. Several times our hands brushed against each other but we both acted like nothing was happening, minus the fact that I felt thirty degrees hotter than before.

He must have noticed too about the heat change as he commented on it. I claimed not to notice and kept mixing with my hands. At one point his hand caught mine completely, I bit my lip thinking he didn't realise but he obviously did. For starters he wasn't trying to mix my hand like he would with the ingredients and he slowly caressed it. I looked up at him to see him staring straight back at me.

Without even registering what I was doing I pulled my hands out the bowl, brushed the excess meat off my hands then went to the sink to wash them. He joined me after a few seconds but was standing directly behind me.

His arms came round either side of me and joined mine under the tap. He applied soap to his hand then slowly started washing my hands with it. My brain was going crazy with how close he was and the feel of his skin against mine. I did the same to his hands, making sure they were clean.

It didn't even matter that we were going to get them dirty again by going back and actually making the meatballs, all we had done was mix the ingredients. But that wasn't what was important at the moment. It was him and how close he was to me.

After drying our hands I turned, still trapped by him. His hands were on either side of me against the worktop keeping me there. I looked up into his eyes seeing the same passion mine would be showing him. Slowly he leant down and ever so gently brushed his lips against mine. I wanted to wrap my arms round his neck but knew if I moved them off the worktop I'd collapse to the floor. How romantic would that be?

"I don't regret it." He whispered pulling back ever so slightly. "I will never regret it." I nodded and kissed him again with the same softness he showed me.

We pulled back and looked at each other before breaking away, and what good timing we had since Charlie walked in the door five minutes later. That would have been hard to explain why I was cornered against the worktop kissing the teenage guy staying with us. I'm sure Charlie would have loved to see that.

I couldn't help but smile inwardly, he didn't regret it. That meant the world to me. Maybe, just maybe I'm making some ground with Edward.


	14. Chapter 14: Thin Walls

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Fourteen: Thin Walls**

**27th February**

**4 Months & 6 Days Left**

_Edward's POV_

I was waiting in Alice's room for her to get home so I could speak to her. Things have been simmering in my head for that last two weeks and I have to tell someone or I'm going to go crazy. Of course it's related to Bella, how could it not be?

I'm disappointed to say that there have been no kisses since that day in the kitchen. I've been spending a lot of my time in the music department at school and Bella has been doing things with Alice. We haven't really seen each other and when we have Alice has always been there.

Even though Bella does tell Alice what goes on between us I don't really want to show Alice what goes on between us. It's better if my sister just stays out of my love life. But that contradicts what I'm doing here. I don't want her to get involved in it I just want her to help me sort through the mess that is my brain.

"Oh hey." Alice said, finally entering her room. I just looked at her from my spot where I was collapsing over the desk. "What's wrong? You look miserable."

"I like her." I mumbled, not expecting such a hyper active response.

"YES! I KNEW IT, HA!" I shot her a glare and put my head back in my hands. "Sorry, that wasn't quite what you were going for was it?" I shook my head and mumbled some incoherent things back to her. "Okay that wasn't English so let's try again. What's wrong?"

"I like her." I said again, looking at my sister now.

"So? How is that a problem?"Alice asked confused, sitting over by the bed.

"I can't like her."

"Why?" She frowned. I stood up and started pacing in front of the bed; it was a way to relieve some stress. To answer her question all the words sort of fell out of my mouth really quickly and I could tell she was struggling to keep up.

"For starters it would never work. I live there, she lives here. I'm rich, she's not. I have a title, she doesn't. How could that work? She would be completely degraded in our lifestyle and I'm not treated any better here. Our father would flip out and you know that. He's looking for a nice young bride for me as we speak. The second I graduate I'm going to be picking out china patterns and wedding cakes. Also you know that I won't get anything if I marry someone they don't approve of and I'm not saying I would marry Bella it's just I would like the option to. Plus I don't think she likes me so there really is not point to any of thi-"

"STOP!" I turned sharply to look at her after her outburst. "You need to slow down, I did hear what you said but you can't expect me to answer all those worries in one go. So it won't work, let's start there, how won't it work?"

"I just told you Alice! I live here, she live-" She held her hand up to stop me.

"No forget about all that. Let's say that you two are normal average people without any of those worries, would it work?"

"Well yeah since we get on together and even though we squabble it's still kind of fun. I like her and I think she could learn to like me." Alice was beaming as I became shy talking about how I felt.

"See, there's a start. You like her, that's good and you've finally admitted to it, that's even better. Just so you know she likes you too by the way." I ignored that last comment, I wouldn't take Alice's word for it on this. I would need to hear that from Bella. "Okay so what's next? You live here; she lives there, the money and the title thing right?" I nodded.

"Well like you said, you are graduating soon and then you won't be tied down to stay in one place all the time. That could work. If you two were determined to stay together then I'm sure you would sort something out. Whether you live here or she lives there, it's up to you two but don't think about that now. Remember, you're not planning your entire life all at once, I think you forget that too much Edward." Alice said lounging back on the bed as she pondered the next problem.

"The money and titles are not a problem. So what you're rich, that just gives you more money to take care of her and before you say anything she is definitely not a gold digger. She won't let me pay for anything when we go out, it's rather annoying actually since I saw this really cute skirt that would look great on Bella, really show off her legs-"

"Alice!" I called, breaking her from that crazed fashion mind. "You're getting off point."

"Oh yeah, silly me. Anyway the money, not an issue, just ignore it. Title well you could always reject yours if it means that much to you and just become Mr. But if that doesn't appeal to you as I think it might you could just ignore that too. So what if you're Marquess and she's Miss? It's not like she's going to call you by it. They are just insignificant things." I nodded thinking that she might have a point but there will be times where my wealth and title will get in the way.

"You did have a good point about her being degraded in our lifestyle, that's so true, she really would be. Shockingly I dread taking her to the three events we have to go to since she'll be treated like scum in the posh way of doing it. Act all sweet and nice then stab them in the back and spread that they are a common whore when they're not looking. It's not very ladylike and these are the woman I'm meant to aspire to be like, pfft, they wish. Bella will just have to learn how to handle it. Come on it's not that big a deal when you think about it?"

"Are you kidding me?" I asked gaping at her. She frowned back clearly confused.

"No why?"

"Do you remember the Earls son; I don't know his name, really pompous, big nose, chubby, thought he was God's gift to woman?" Alice slowly began to nod then her recollection returned. "Do you also remember who he married, small, blonde, thin, leggy, looked like she was a model but actually wasn't?"

"Who were her parents?" I smirked.

"Exactly. She came from some rundown town in the middle of the countryside, had never ridden a horse, didn't know how to act at polo matches, had never had an elocution lesson in her life, didn't plan on doing anything with her life, got confused with all the knives and forks at stately dinners, they consummated the marriage before they were engaged and you know that didn't help her case, she had that weird tendency to talk when not spoken to, couldn't wrap her head round who her husband was and the money, she got the title of Countess when said husband became Earl. No one has heard from them in years yet they live about eighteen miles from us in the heart of the estate homes."

"Oh yeah, she was really nice actually." I nodded but moved on.

"You and I both know the only way to drop of the social ladder completely is to be thrown off of it. That's what happened to them. Apparently the Earl died because he was so ashamed of who his son married." Alice rolled her eyes but we both heard that rumour circling round the country club. "At every party that girl was slashed and torn down by those scornful bitches and I don't want to put Bella through that." I paused to breath then continued.

"They would treat her exactly the same and you know it. She's too caring and sweet to be thrown in with the wolves. I won't have that. When I'm around her I want to protect her. There is no way I could do that at an event since all the women swarm together to gossip and all the men do the same."

"Yeah but I would be there to look after her Edward." Alice said sounding slightly offended that I might have forgotten about her.

"I know you would be but what if we ended up staying together after this exchange, I would still be invited to these things and as my partner she would have to attend. I don't want you to have to look after her forever since she shouldn't have to be looked after, they should treat her with some respect." Alice beamed again.

"Aww you're getting so sensitive and cute." She ruffled my hair smiling. I glared and sighed towards her. This was not the time for that. "Okay you have one good point there, I understand your fears. So we'll make it Problems: 1 Solutions: 2." I nodded and waited for her to carry on.

"Our father, I think if you explained how much you liked Bella then he would be okay with it. I know he's looking for a bride right now, while you're out the way. But that doesn't mean you have to marry her, he's giving you options. Plus if you put up a fight all you have to do is go to Esme and she will totally back you up on this. She'll be convinced that her baby Eddie has fallen in love." I rolled my eyes but knew my mother would come through for me on this if I asked her.

"I guess you're right." I muttered.

"Of course I'm right, I'm Alice!" She said as though that was a reason in itself. "Eddie?" Alice asked softly.

"Yeah." I knew what topic we were coming to now.

"How important is your inheritance?" This may seem dreadful of me but at the moment I have to compare how much Bella is worth to me and how much I want about 120,000 acres of land and everything we own, which comes to a large sum of money. Let's just say that I will be one of the richest eligible bachelors around.

"I don't know. Does that make me bad for even having to think about this?" I asked sorrowfully.

"No not at all. This is the most important things after all. If father decides that he doesn't want you marrying Bella, if it even comes to that, or hell if he doesn't even want you dating someone of her status then you know he'll write you from the inheritance. This thing with Bella could last forever or could last a year or even months, are you willing to lose everything for her when she might not stick around?" This was a difficult topic, I'm basically having to chose money or Bella and although that may seem easy I'll lose everything if Bella and I don't stay together.

My titles would be stripped from me, I would be asked to leave the house with my possessions and I would only have what I have earned which is about £20,000. That isn't even enough money for me to find a place to stay with the current property prices. Plus I would be casted out of society. My friends would have to turn their backs on me, and I would understand completely. If I'm going down there is no point taking them down with me.

Bella means a lot to me but I don't know if I could give everything up for her. I wish it was easier. I wish I never had to make this choice. But if I want any sort of relationship with her I will have to.

"I'll need some time to think about this." I told Alice. She patted the bed and I sat down next to her.

"Tell her how you feel and just see what goes from there." She suggested as she gave me a hug.

"I don't think I can do that. I would be putting my heart on my sleeve and asking it to be ripped off and destroyed. There is no way I could tell her." I stopped for a second. "She's not in the house is she?" It would be so bad if she was.

"No she's at Jacobs. Why?" I indicated to the walls.

"They are far too thin and you can hear everything." She smirked and nodded.

"So how are you going to act around her?"

"Em...I'll resist the teenage hormones that tell me to kiss her senseless until I know what's going on. That will be hard but I guess I could just have more cold showers." Alice swatted my arm grimacing.

"I didn't need to know that Edward."

"Sorry." I said smirking. "I'm going to go back to my room, I have homework to do." She nodded.

"Just remember Eddie, Problems: 2 Solutions: 3. Everything will work out." Alice said smiling. I sure hope she's right.

Closing her door in the hallway I turned to go back to my room to see Mr Swan standing about four feet away from me not looking pleased. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was scowling. Crap, how much did he hear? Please tell me he didn't hear anything.

"Interesting conversation." He jerked his head towards Alice's door.

So yeah, he heard. Now my life is officially over. Of all the times he had to be in the house it had to be tonight when I was talking about the problems with dating his daughter and then about taking cold showers just proving I find Bella attractive. Just my bloody luck.

"I'll hear you when you walk up the hall. Keep that in mind." He warned. "Goodnight Edward." I didn't dare say anything but just edged past him and escaped to my room.

Of all the people to overhear that it had to be him. Hell, I'd rather have Bella listening rather than him. Things are just so bad now. Stupid bloody thin walls.


	15. Chapter 15: Everyone's Confused

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Fifteen: Everyone's Confused**

**28th February **

**4 Months & 5 Days Left**

_Edward's POV_

Last night was terrible; I didn't get an ounce of sleep. Charlie's a police officer so I'm sure he has a gun and I know he will shoot me if I walk along the corridor. The problem with last night was I was terrified that once I went to sleep he'd hack me death with a butcher's knife. He clearly knows that I'm attracted to Bella and he must be thinking that I want sex from her, every father's once nightmare.

Now obviously I know that that would never happen but he doesn't. I can certainly understand why, we spend so much time together alone in the house that we could be up to anything.

Alice entered my room with her load of books and sprawled herself across the floor as I worked at the desk. After a few moments of silence I spun round in the computer chair to look at her. She's becoming my secret keeper and confidant so maybe she could also give me some advice on how to deal with Charlie.

"Alice?"

"Mm-hmm." She responded with the end of her pen in her mouth.

"Remember the conversation we had last night?"

"Of course." She was still looking at her textbook, trying to work out a problem.

"Well Bella's father overheard it and I think he wants to kill me." She gazed up innocently then smirked. Trust her to find my predicament funny.

"How much did he hear?" She sounded far too cheery.

"I know for a fact he definitely heard the bit about cold showers and trying not to kiss her senseless. He could have heard all the stuff before that, like choosing Bella or my inheritance, but I really don't know. He didn't give me any indication as to what he heard, just that if he could hear me if I walked along the hall." She giggled.

"Oh that's genius. He probably thinks you're some sleazy teenage guy trying to bed his daughter."

"Yeah but I'm not."

"Well he doesn't know that. Is that why you have those dark rings round your eyes, too scared to sleep?" Before I answered she was laughing at me again.

"Not entirely, I needed the bathroom but couldn't go." She stopped and frowned at me.

"Why not?"

"Because the bathroom is at the end of the hall next to Bella's room." With that she was in a fit of giggles again. Really, what possessed me to even think of asking her? She's no help what so ever.

"I don't find this particularly funny, Alice." It was a warning tone which she picked up on and stopped laughing but the smirk was still there.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Okay, I don't think you have much to worry about. Just don't let him catch you kissing her or touching her in any way and you'll be fine." I doubt that.

"But-" She cut me off.

"No, you'll be fine so stop worrying. And perhaps go to the bathroom before Bella goes to her room."

"That won't work; he'll probably think I'm hiding in her closet for my midnight escapades." Alice rolled her eyes but started giggling shortly after.

Of all the siblings I could have had I end up with her.

_Bella's POV_

Edward and Alice had headed upstairs to start on the mountains of homework we were issued today, it's like the teachers just love to see us suffer. No doubt by the time I was to head up there they would have finished it. I was washing dishes at the sink and placing them on the drying rack. We had just had dinner and it was, for lack of a better word, weird.

Edward was completely on edge, he had dark purple circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and he looked hellish. Every time my father said his name he looked like a deer caught in headlights. Alice and I had no idea what was going on but she planned on asking Edward later then filling me in.

Usually after dinner Charlie goes next-door into the sitting room to watch the television but for some reason he was still sitting at the table, watching me. I dried my hands and smiled at him as I went to leave but he called me back and asked me to take a seat. I was nervous to say the least. This looked serious.

"Bella I wanted to talk to you." Charlie said nodding, as though trying to convince himself that this was the right thing to do.

"Okay...what about? You're not sick are you?" I asked concerned for his welfare.

"No, no, no. I'm not sick..." He paused for a second. "I wanted to talk to you about Edward." Okay I wasn't really expecting that, for a moment there I thought he was going to go off on one of those parental talks about drugs, sex or alcohol that Renee gave me years ago.

"So what about Edward?"

"Well he's a teenage boy and...And you two are friends or perhaps more-" That startled me a bit, god please do not tell me my father saw us kissing. "-and usually when that happens two people do things...they...they regret."

I had no idea what my father was on about but the fact that he thinks me or Edward are more than friends just confirms that he must have seen us kissing.

"Frustration and raging hormones might...increase the chances...of...stuff happening...but you need to be sure-" Charlie was still rambling and I was lost. I didn't regret kissing Edward and he didn't regret kissing me.

"I don't regret it, I was sure." I said confidently. My father's face paled slightly and he had his mouth gapping open.

"You...you did...did it?" It was barely a whisper but I just heard it and no more. What's the big deal? It was just a couple of kisses.

"Yeah." He paled again; I didn't think you could even get that pale. Suddenly there was a change in his expression as he looked up the stairs then back at me.

"EDWARD GET DOWN HERE NOW!!" My father bellowed as he quickly rose from his chair. Seriously, I didn't think he would over react this much about a kiss. It was nothing, hell there wasn't even tongue involved in some of them.

Edward came round the corner apprehensively looking like a terrified schoolboy. He was no longer the confidant pompous ass who strutted around like he owned the place. Nope he now looked like a lost little boy about to get told off.

"Ye-ss-ssi-rr?" It was shaking and I swear he was going to piss himself in terror.

"I TRUSTED YOU IN MY HOME AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO." Edward looked slightly confused for a sec. I was lost and had no idea what was going on. "YOU SCREW MY DAUGHTER THEN TELL YOUR SISTER BELLA'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU."

With the first half of that sentence I was out of my chair, knocking it to the ground behind me. Edward now looked confused, lost, terrified and as though he was about to cry. If it was any other time I would give him a hug.

"Wow, we haven't had sex!" I said quickly, catching my dad's attention. He turned to me looking angry but not as angry as he was when looking at Edward.

"What?!"

"Edward and I have not had sex." I repeated.

"Then why did you say you did?" Charlie said, now also confused. God did anyone in the room actually know what the hell was going on?

"I didn't." He shook his head.

"I asked if you did it and you said you yes." He was calming down but if looks could kill Edward would be dead.

"No I thought you meant did I kiss him. I've kissed him sure but sex? Hell no." That brought him back to normal.

"Sorry." He mumbled to me before turning and quickly pacing into his room.

"He's not going to get his gun is he?" Edward asked wide-eyed and scared. I laughed softly and shook my head.

"No he's not." That relaxed him and the calm and collected Edward was returning.

"Thank God, I'm not wearing my bullet proof vest."

"Please don't tell me you have one of those here." He looked at me for a second as if I was stupid.

"Bella there are gangs!" I rolled my eyes and dragged him into the living room to head up stairs. I stopped momentarily when I though back over what Charlie said.

'_... TELL YOUR SISTER BELLA'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU.'_

"Edward?" He stopped ranting about the gangs and turned to me. "What did my father mean when he said you told Alice that I wasn't good enough for you?"

"Eh...we...uh...I...mm." Was all he got out before stopping entirely.

"I'm not good enough for you?" I asked softly. It seems like I take two steps forward with him then three back all the time. Will this ever just work?

"It's not like that...it's really complicated actually."

"Yes or no?" I didn't want excuses, just the truth.

"I can't answer that." He looked to the ground and that was the only answer I needed before I walked up the stairs and went straight to my room, ignoring Alice's calls.

**5th March**

**3 Months 3 Weeks & 6 Days Left**

_Alice's POV_

It was a Sunday and we were all in the house together. The last week has been hell for me. It's like I'm caught in the middle. Edward is moping and Bella's trying to act like she's fine when she's moping too.

We were all crashing in the living room. The television was on and Edward was watching some rubbish movie as he lay across the couch. Bella was sitting curled up, wrapped in a blanket, reading a book on the side chair and I was watching those two.

Every so often Bella would glance up from her book and look at Edward before returning to the page before her. Edward would do the exact same; he was watching Bella more than the movie. They were both sending each other longing glances and I knew that neither of them liked the sticky situation that they landed in.

Of course it sounded bad when Charlie said that and Edward didn't help matters by not giving her a straight answer but those two fools like each other and this is just stopping them from ever getting together.

I know my brother and if he doesn't think that there is enough of a relationship then he'll let her go. He won't tell her how he feels or things are, instead he'll bottle up his feelings and get his sweet little heart broken when she leaves in about 4 months.

Bella, well from what I can gather she won't say anything, or if she does then Edward will totally dismiss it without even realising he's trampling all over her feelings. She might get the guts to tell him but after this last little dilemma I can't see that happening anytime soon.

"Does anyone want a drink?"Edward asked, getting up and heading towards the kitchen.

"I'm alright." I said quietly.

"No thank you." Bella mumbled, barely looking at him. He nodded and sighed before disappearing.

He would be back pretty soon so I decided to jump start on damage control. I had tried to do this earlier but Edward kept yelling at me for interfering. What does he know? If it wasn't for me they would never have kissed and wouldn't have had that sensual hand wash, food making time in the kitchen together. They're the puppets and I'm the puppet master, without me they would be nothing.

"He doesn't think you're not good enough for him. In a way I would say that he thinks he's not good enough for you. In our lifestyle he wouldn't be able to protect you from those who would love to see someone like you humiliated and ridiculed. Trust me when I say he cares about you."

Bella looked up from her book then back at the kitchen, we could now hear him on the phone talking animatedly to someone, my guess Emmett or Jazz.

"I like him but how could this work? He lives there, I live here. He's rich, I'm not-" I cut her off.

"There is no way I'm going to sit through that whole speech again. Edward already walked me through it and I'm not doing it another time round with you. If you guys care about each other, which you do, this will work out. Trust me, I know."

That was all we had time to say as Edward walked back in smiling slightly, the only smile out of him I've seen all week.

"What was that about?" I asked curiously.

"Emmett and Jasper are coming down sometime this week to help me with something."

"Rose not coming?" I would love to see Rose; I need my shopping partner since Bella is too reluctant to go.

"No, the guys are only coming down for a few hours then heading back."

"Big trip for a few hours, six hour car ride there and back. What's this something you need to take care of?" It must be something important if they are making such a journey.

"Just a couple of guys I was having trouble with, that's all."

"How big are your friends?" Bella asked, I was slightly surprised since she directed the question at Edward who was smiling back at her.

"Emmett's huge, as big as a bear. Jasper's pretty big too, he can hold his own." She smirked and shook her head.

I felt slightly left out, they knew something I didn't know. Oh well I'll just get Jazz to tell me afterwards.

But hey, it was good to see them smiling at each other again.


	16. Chapter 16: A Risk I'm Willing To Take

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Sixteen: A Risk I'm Willing To Take **

**16th March **

**3 Months 2 Weeks & 2 Days Left**

_Bella's POV_

I really don't understand what goes on between Edward and me. Alice spends her weekends with Jasper and currently she's staying over at his house, something she's never allowed to do. That left Edward and me alone but that wasn't really the problem.

We spent the day together and I had a good time with him, we didn't do much but it was nice just to get away from all the problems within our friendship. I still like him and today just reinforced those feelings. But it's not like it matters because nothing will ever come of this, he's made that obvious.

After spending the day together we headed back to the house and just hung about there. Charlie was working on something big so was going to spend a lot of time out. That left Edward and I to have dinner alone together. Surprisingly it was fine, no problems what so ever.

Eventually it started to get late so we headed to our rooms and that was that. Or so I thought. At around eleven thirty I was still awake even though I had been trying to get to sleep for about thirty minutes. It was still kind of early but I was tired. Anyway I decided to head downstairs for a glass of water just to see if that would help.

I opened my bedroom door and stepped out into the hall to see Edward sitting at the top of the stairs. He hadn't noticed me so I slowly approached him. He turned to see what the noise was when there was a creak on the floorboards. I smiled softly and he nodded before turning away quickly.

Walking over I sat down with my back against the wall looking at him. He turned to me, glanced me up and down then turned back to face the staircase. Edward opened his mouth to say something but then shut it again. Since he didn't look like he was going to make the first move I decided I would.

"Is everything okay?" I asked softly, trying not to push him into telling me if there was. Hopefully it wasn't about our friendship and spending the day with one another. Maybe he was having doubts about being friends with me.

"I'm just thinking about a few things, that's all." He had his elbows on his knees and placed his face in the palm of his hands before running a hand through his hair, messing it up more but still making him look great. "Take it you can't sleep."

"No, I tried but it's not really working." He nodded, glancing at me every so often.

"I don't sleep, well I rarely sleep."

"I can tell." Very gently I raised my hand and placed it on his cheek, lightly brushing the dark circles that surround his eyes. He smiled lazily and turned his body just a little so he could face me easier.

"Alice called earlier." I raised my eyebrows waiting for him to continue. "She told me that my father has found me a bride. Apparently she's perfect, his words not Alice's. " He was speaking in a monotone voice and his eyes seemed glazed over with blandness, as though he wasn't processing what he was talking about.

"I don't...I can't..." He sighed loudly before picking up his sentence and trying again. "This isn't what I want from my life. I know my father loves me and is trying to what's best for me but I don't want some girl to marry because she has everything _he _is looking for in a daughter-in-law. I want someone I care about, I love, who loves me for me, not because I'm rich and have a title. But it's come to my notice those girls don't exist, well not from where I'm from."

Edward turned to look at me and I felt like I was being inspected under a microscope the way he was looking at me. His eyes searched my entire body before returning to my face and holding eye contact with me.

"I like you Bella. I like you a lot. But-" He licked his lips then carried on. "-I could never date you." HE shook his head and turned away, breaking the moment. From nowhere I gathered all this confidence, if he could confess that then so would I.

"I like you too Edward." He turned rather sharply.

"Really?" His voice was full of disbelieve. I nodded and placed my hand on his cheek, bringing him closer to me.

He understood what was going on and complied with what I wanted. Ever so slowly, it was like torture, he brushed his lips against mine. I wanted his to speed up so moved my hand to the back of his neck, running my fingers through his hair. He kept going slow though and was drawing out each and every kiss.

Edward was first to pull back. We were both breathing slightly heavily and trying to gain some composure. I was still trying to get my heart beat to calm down when Edward took my hand gently and helped me up then led me into his room and shut the door behind us.

I know he's a true gentleman and isn't expecting anything here. The only reason to bring us in there would be for privacy since we were sitting in a very obvious spot, at the top of the stairs, in front of the main door.

"You're beautiful." Was all he whispered before his lips crashed against mine, not that I was complaining. My back was against the door and he was pressing himself against me, basically trapping me in his arms.

Suddenly he pulled back and stormed to the other side of the room. Edward leant against the wall breathing out deeply and trying to calm himself down. He had his hands on the back of his head; fingers entwined and was watching me.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." He apologised.

"What are you talking about Edward?" Don't tell me he regrets kissing me this time.

"Bella I like you and you said that you liked me." I nodded. "Well nothing can ever come of this. I can't date you, it's just not possible. Kissing you is basically taking advantage of the fact that you will kiss me. I can't do that. I can't use you like that and right now that's all I am doing."

"I don't think you are. But who says this can't become anything? It won't be anything unless you want it to be that way." He sighed and shook his head.

Frankly I was getting tired of guessing with him. One second he's kissing me then he's not. He runs away after kissing me and it doesn't happen again for a while. He tells me he doesn't regret it but doesn't do it again for about a week. What does he want from me?

"Bella how would you feel if for the duration of this exchange we had a relationship with each other then on July the 1st you leave and I marry someone else? Well the engagement would be announced that night, but it's still the same thing. Please answer that, how would you feel?"

I hated to admit that he had a point. That wouldn't be the best of circumstances for this. Considering we don't have a lot of time with each other it would be wise, if anything was going to happen between us, for us to start it sooner rather than later. But if the commitments after this exchange have such a life altering effect, like his engagement would, then maybe we should just forget we ever had any of these feelings.

"I would feel used and probably be really angry and upset." He nodded verifying that's what he thought. "But you said that you don't want to marry this girl, whoever she is, so then don't. That fixes all the problems here." He shook his head this time and looked at me calmly before gently caressing my cheek.

"It would only cause more problems. I do like you Bella but the only way anything could happen here is if it was a secret and it ended on June the 30th. It couldn't go past that date and we would never be able to speak about how we feel about each other." He whispered soothingly.

Slowly he wrapped his arms round me and held me close to his chest. He kissed the top of my head and whispered sweet nothings in my ear. I felt safe in his arms and I wanted this to work, even if it we could only be together for about three months, and even if at the end he would marry another girl.

Somehow I know this is going to lead to heartbreak but that's a chance I'm willing to take with him. I moved a little to look up at him and saw his beautiful topaz eyes staring back. I leant up on the tip of my toes and kissed him; he was caught off guard but responded quickly.

"Does this mean...what I think...it means?" He asked as we moved across the room.

"Yes." He pulled back, looked hard into my eyes then smiled my favourite crooked smile before kissing me senseless.

We somehow stumbled onto the bed. My old self would be screaming this is getting risky and could go places I don't want to. Unfortunately the new me with raging teenage hormones was in control and didn't really mind where we were now lying.

Edward was below me running one of his hands up my back while the other kept me close by holding my head. I had one hand in his hair and the other on his shoulder, just in case I needed to pull back and he wouldn't stop, I could just give him a little push so he would get the message.

"Bella...don't...ever...stop." He said between kisses. "I mean...you can stop...for food and to sleep...shower and go to the bathroom...at school..." How the hell could he be talking and rambling now?

"Edward." I said pulling back from his lips and looking at him. "Shut up."

"Yeah." Then he brought me back down to kiss him which I happily complied with. I don't know how long we stayed there but the only thing that broke our frantic attack on each other's lips was the sound of the door shutting quietly.

I moved off him completely and tried to regain my normal breathing as I went to investigate who it was. Stepping into the hall and peering down the stairs I noticed it was Charlie. Turning back around I stuck my head round Edward's door.

"It's my dad, if he finds us both awake...well I don't think he'll be happy. Pretend to be asleep if you can, get control of your breathing, it might make you more believable. Night."

"I'll see you in the morning." I nodded and darted towards my room as I heard Charlie's footsteps on the bottom stair.

As fast as I could I jumped under the covers and tried to make it look like I was asleep. Charlie went straight to Edward's room first; the squeak of the door opening full gave him away. I was praying to God that Edward was a believable actor and my dad would buy that he had been asleep the whole time.

The door shut and he made his way into my room, even though he just checked Edward's I saw him scan the floor then he bent down and looked under the bed. My cupboard door opened and I peeked another look. Who knows what Charlie was expecting to find but it definitely wasn't here. Sighing he left and shut the door behind him.

Phew, that could have been close. If we had been louder than we were then we definitely would have been caught. I don't know how I would have explained to Charlie that there's nothing going on between us if I was caught straddling Edward and kissing him frantically. I'm sure that would have gone down with a hoot.

My cell phone vibrated across my night stand so I grabbed it quickly to see why it was going off. There was no need for it to ring and have Charlie come back up here. Flipping it open it said I had received one new text message from Edward Cullen

_I miss you already. Do you think your father will check on us again? _

_Edward. Xxxxx_

I smiled, feeling all fuzzy inside; I know you probably want to vomit. I replied then telling him that Charlie would just go to bed unless he heard one of us going to the bathroom then he would come and check to see who was walking along the hall.

Expecting to get a reply I was horrified when the door opened, thinking it was Charlie and I was sitting up holding me phone. To my relief Edward entered and smiled crookedly, making my heart beat frantically.

"I wanted to say a proper goodnight to you." He whispered as he walked over and leant down kissing me softly. Deciding that Charlie wouldn't check again I grabbed Edward's wrist when he went to return to his room.

He seemed confused as to why I was pulling him closer but finally understood when I threw back the covers and scooted over, leaving him enough room in the bed next to me. At first he was hesitant but slid in anyway.

Turning over, facing away from him, I felt him adjust behind me then wrap his arm round my waist, draping across the front of my stomach. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck and since my back was against his chest I could feel his heart beating frantically.

"Relax Edward. Just go to sleep." I whispered, his grip increased, pulling me slightly closer, if that was even possible. I fell asleep shortly after, feeling safe and content in his arms thinking finally, we're getting somewhere.


	17. Chapter 17: Arrested

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Seventeen: Arrested**

**25th March**

**3 Months & 1 Week Left**

_Edward's POV_

Someone please remind me why I'm friends with these two. I have to admit Jasper isn't that bad but Emmett, well he just asks for trouble.

When they arrived at school just before the end of the day I was happy to see some familiar faces and glad they made the trip to help me out with the guys giving me a bit of trouble. I would never ask for help since I can hold my own but since there are four of them it made sense to call in some reinforcements.

I met up with them at the end of school by Emmett's Jeep and all we had to do was wait for the other guys to turn up. Two girls, one of whom was dating the main jackass of the group, were also waiting on the guys to turn up. Deciding that they best way to get their attention would be to hit on her I made my way across the school grounds to where they were sitting.

Emmett and Jasper stayed in Emmett's Jeep keeping out of sight, so not to spook the guys away when they arrived. Well our idea worked miraculously, the second I started talking to her the four of them walked out from the main building and headed straight my way, with their backs to the car park.

"Cambridge! What the hell do you think you are doing? She's with me." The burliest of the lot yelled. The four of them approached and the girls took this as their cue to leave.

"I'm not doing anything wrong, just having a conversation." I said innocently, holding up my arms in mock surrender. He moved closer as his three lackeys stood still a few feet behind him. Over their shoulders I could see Jasper and Emmett making their way over. I couldn't help but smirk at the satisfaction I'd gain from beating the crap out of these guys.

"What the hell are you smiling at Cambridge? Do you think this is funny?" He shoved me backwards but I still couldn't help but smile.

"Is there a problem here?" Emmett asked wrapping his arms round two of the guys closest, putting them both in headlocks. Jasper went and stood behind the other lone member in the group.

"No. No problem at all." I said before hitting the guy square in the face, making him stumble backwards. For once I was enjoying the look of worry etching across his face when he noticed his friends couldn't help him.

Emmett had happily scared off one of the guys by shoving him away, telling him he had a five minute head start before he came after him. The other guy was two feet off the group being held up by the collar.

"What do you want me to do with him?" Emmett asked as Jasper's guy sprinted away, terrified of what was going to happen next.

Before I could answer the main jackass lunged for Jasper. I didn't have time to react but Emmett did. He dropped the little guy then stepped forward and punched the guy in the jaw, knocking him to the floor.

"Asshole. You okay Jazz?" Emmett asked shaking his fist slightly, flexing it.

"Yeah I'm fine. That was easier than I thought it was going to be."

"Well it's not like we could pick a real fight, the bruises on our knuckles would be enough to derive questions that we couldn't answer."

I was listening to them talking but was watching the guy Emmett punched, he hadn't moved and was just lying there. Frowning I bent down and shook him, trying to get some response. Emmett was still blabbering on about something but Jasper had taken an interest into what I was doing.

"Eh...Emmett?" Jasper said quietly.

"Yeah." He was looking down at us confused about the unconscious body at our feet.

"You knocked him out." Jasper said gauging was Emmett's reaction would be. Instead of him worrying about the guy on the floor he burst out laughing.

"Oops, I must have hit him too hard."

"Well geez Emmett what the hell do we do with him now?" I asked slightly rattled. There we were with an unconscious body lying next to us.

"I don't know. Let's take him home." With that he helped Jasper lift the guy so his arms were over his shoulders and they dragged him to the Jeep.

"I don't know where he lives. Hell I don't even know his name." I confessed when they dumped him on the back seats.

Shutting the doors we got in the car. Jasper was in the back with the guy and Emmett was driving. Jasper rooted around in the guys pocket and pulled out his wallet and phone. There was nothing helpful in there so Jasper started looking around in his phone for his address or at least his name.

"No I can't find anything here." He said, handing the phone to Emmett who wanted to have a look.

"Why don't we just call his home and tell them we will drop him off, but ask for where he lives." He started searching through the contacts.

"What do we tell them when they ask why he's unconscious?" I asked irritably. This was a simple task; we did not need all this fuss.

"We tell them we found him like this. They'll buy it and we'll be fine." Not waiting for our answer Emmett hit the call button. "Hi look we have your son...no he unconscious so can't come to the phone...no it's not like that...we don't want your money...ransom? What are you talking about?...wait...no...where do you live?...it's not like that...he's fine-"

He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at us. "She hung up." I sighed as Jasper asked Emmett what went on. "Well she went hysterical when I told her we had her son. Then she starting banging on about money, as though we wanted paid. I think she's crazy."

"She wasn't crazy Emmett but you made it sound like we had kidnapped her son. Why did you tell her he was unconscious?" I asked getting more frustrated by the second.

"She asked."

"Well that's just great, we have a hysterical mother doing god only knows what and her son is unconscious in the back or the car. What do we do with him?"

"Take him back to Bella's, maybe she knows where he lives."

"Yeah let's drag another person into this fiasco." I grumbled as Emmett started driving towards Bella's after Jasper gave him directions.

At that time I thought it was going to be okay from there on out but of course nothing is that simple. It's safe to say that we all like drive fast and most of the time it's over the speed limit. The good thing is that we rarely get caught. Due to the luck I was having recently we just had to be pulled over. We pulled over to the side of the road and a male police officer approached the vehicle.

"Quick hide the body!" Emmett called to Jasper who was trying to get the guy to sit up in the back seat.

"You make it sound like he's dead." I pointed out.

"Well he looks it, Jasper check if he's dead." Said Emmett just as the officer tapped on the passenger window for us to roll it down.

We went through the usual license and registration process and he went back to his car to check if the car was stolen. On return he handed back Emmett's details then frowned as he looked into the back of the car.

"Something wrong with your friend?" He said pointing to the unconscious guy. Jasper had him propped up but he had fallen and his face was on his knees.

"Oh him, no. He's fine." The officer didn't buy it though and asked Emmett to step out of the vehicle; he feared we may have been drinking. As Emmett was taken back to the police officers car so he could do the breathalyser test the other officer came down to check on our 'friend'.

"How did he get in this shape?" The female officer asked after opening the passenger door and checking him over. The question took us by surprise and we didn't know what to say so both of us paused for a second before both replying at the same time.

"He's drunk."

"He's really tired."

"Okay, what's his name?"

"John."

"Marcus."

We both looked to each other as though to say 'crap we messed up'. Obviously not believing why he was in that condition and who he was she asked us a few more questions, his age, where he lived etc. then she just walked away and left us.

"What are we going to do?" Jasper asked as I was watching the female officer quiz Emmett on our 'friend'. Great, she was asking him the same questions and checking our answers with him.

"I have no idea." I admitted as the female officer called something in.

It was just going from bad to worse.

Emmett was kept in the police car and we had to stay where we were for about five minutes when a police van pulled up. Jasper and I both looked at each other making sure the other one noticed it. The two male officers approached us and asked us to step out of the vehicle. Before we knew 

what was happening our rights were being read and we were cuffed before being put in the back of the police van.

Just bloody brilliant.

Apparently they thought we had abducted/kidnapped the guy in the back. His mother, the woman Emmett called, called the police claiming her son had been taken and gave a description of what he looked like. So when they found said guy unconscious in the back of our car it didn't look too good.

That's how the three of us ended up in single holding cells at the local police station. Remind me never to ask for help from them again.

My cell door opened after about three hours of us waiting there. The second I saw Charlie enter the cell I wanted to crawl up in the corner and have the floor eat me. Standing up quickly I waited for him to say something.

"Edward." He nodded at me, still standing in the doorway.

"Mr Swan."

"I thought it must have been some kind of mistake when I heard that you and two of your friends had found your way into these cells, turns out I was wrong. Good news for you is that the family involved aren't pressing charges as their son explained it was just some misunderstanding. Bad news is that I don't trust you. More to the point I don't trust you with my daughter. You seem irresponsible, cold, rude and frankly I just don't like you. Bella is going to stay with very shortly and I'm having doubts about her care." He paused for a second to let what he was saying sink in before carrying on.

"Alice is great with Bella and I can see that those two are very good friends but you...well I don't know what you are to my daughter but if it's anything more than friends you better start running. I won't be there to see what goes on between you two but believe me when I say I'll find out if you two get more than friendly." He stood there glaring at me; I thought he was thinking about hitting me.

"You can leave now." With that I practically ran out the small cell just in time to say goodbye to Jasper and Emmett who were getting a taxi back to his car before heading home. That left me getting a ride with Charlie. One word: awkward.

I sprinted into the house and was greeted by Alice who sent me a knowing stare, obviously Jasper called her, and almost a hug from Bella. Unfortunately for her Charlie walked in as she was going to hug me so I ended up darting out the way and pushing her backwards slightly. She stumbled into Alice and they both sent me death glares.

"I'll explain later." I mouthed as we all headed to the dining room for dinner.

Later that evening when I was hunched over my desk doing homework Bella came in scowling. I smiled crookedly knowing that she usually calms down a bit but instead I was met with a slap across the arm.

"Explain why you practically shoved me earlier." She was not happy.

"Your father is going to kill me." Bella groaned then plopped herself down in my lap.

"Edward enough of this already. Charlie won't kill you, he can't kill you."

"Yes he can. He has a gun. I'm terrified." She rolled her eyes at my antics.

"Well if you're that worried get your bullet proof vest." She was kidding but I was not.

"That's a great idea." I went to stand up, kind of hard with where she was sitting, but she grabbed my shirt to keep me where I was.

"Don't be sill-" She never got to finish that sentence as the door opened and I automatically thought it was Charlie so scooped Bella up and threw her onto the bed. She bounced and went right over the other side, landing with a thud.

If her father doesn't kill me she most certainly will.

"Where's Bella?" Alice asked after shutting the door. Good thing is it wasn't Charlie. Bad thing is Bella's furious that I chucked her over the bed.

"What was that for?" She said shooting daggers at me.

"I thought it was your father. Bella seriously he's going to kill me if he knows something's going on between us." I blurted out, completely forgetting Alice was standing there.

"There's something going on between you guys? Oh that's so great!" Alice squealed loudly.

"Shhh the whole house can hear you!" I told her pointedly, receiving a glare back. "Bella I'm sorry I threw you. It wasn't very gentlemanly of me. Forgive me?" I held my arms open, hoping she would come into them. Instead she just stood there with her hands on her hips looking oh so cute.

"Nope you're going to have to do some serious grovelling to make up for this." Alice smiled wickedly, probably loving how much power Bella had over me.

Getting up I walked over to Bella and wrapped my arms round her waist. I kissed her gently and she started to relax ever so slowly. Bringing my lips away from hers and along her jaw I made my way over her neck.

"I'm sorry. I'll do whatever you want in order for you to forgive me." With that I kissed my way back down her neck. She was now putty in my hand.

Alice coughed loudly, breaking us away from what was surely about to be a hormone and passion filled kiss. "Sorry but I don't really feel like watching you two make out. I am so glad you two are together but I don't want to watch your togetherness. Okay?" We both nodded as Bella removed herself from my arms.

I sighed as I sat down and watched the two of them chat away about God only knows what. After the whirlwind of a day I was tired and couldn't help but think a few things over. First of all, Charlie, if he found out about our secret 'relationship' I'm certain he would pull Bella from the exchange as he hates me. Second, we'll be going home in a week and Bella will be joining us, I hate to think what's going to happen there. I guess on the plus side it'll be easier to hide our 'relationship' from Charlie since he won't be there. And third, I'm in way over my head with this girl.


	18. Chapter 18: Arrival

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Eighteen: Arrival**

**1st April**

**3 Months Left**

_Bella's POV_

There is only one word I can use to describe their house: unbelievable. I'm still not even sure that covers it.

The house is amazing. From the way they described it I thought I was going to be staying in some cold ghastly ancient castle. I'm glad that I was wrong. It's is ancient but it is also very beautiful. The grounds that the house is located on are very extensive and from what I could see the gardens aswell were lovely.

The house is big, to say the least. After driving down the long road to the entrance I stepped out to stare up at the ridiculously grand house before me. It had stately home written all over it. Whilst I was standing there gaping at the sight before me Edward and Alice were chuckling away, finding my reaction hilarious.

"You guys live here?" I croaked out. God in comparison to my house it looks like I live in the slums.

"Yep. It's not as great as your making it out to be." Alice said, brushing it off.

"How could it not be? This place is gorgeous." They both just shrugged and Edward grabbed my hand leading me up the steps to the main door.

"It's got its good and bad points. You'll notice that it becomes deathly cold at night and sometimes it gets eerily silent. Also you'll get lost, I've lived here my entire life and I still get lost sometimes. On the upside there are endless amounts of things to do. But it's not like you'll have time for much since we're really going to throw you in the deep end of our lives. Anything we do you do it too." He walked me through the grand hallway with black and white marble flooring and led me up another set of grand stairs.

"Basically the next three months are going to consist of you attending more private dinner, royal functions and high society balls than you would have thought possible. There's also school which we will be going to tomorrow, the uniforms in your room. I'm...hoping it won't be too bad for you."

Well since he said it like that my brain went into overdrive. Obviously from what they've told me I'm not going to be welcomed with open arms but I was hoping that they wouldn't judge me just yet. Hell if Edward could like me and he was a pompous spoilt rich boy when I first met him then I'm pretty sure they could learn to like me. Or am I just wishing on a hopeless dream?

Since Edward was leading the way, and leading rather briskly at that, I didn't exactly get to see a lot of the house. He pulled me through a few more corridors and rooms before opening the door to the room that would be mine for the next three months.

Much like the rest of the house it had a very rich, grand feeling about it. Even though the style was not modern it still had many modern features added for comfort. It was cream in colour and many of the items were pastel coloured, matching the walls. The room had a lovely antique dresser on the right wall by the window which faced the bed. There was also a set of chest drawers and matching bedside tables. I looked around the plush room once more before turning back to Edward who was leaning in the doorframe.

"Are you sure I'm meant to be staying here?" He smirked but nodded.

"This room is perfect for you. It's in the same wing of the house as Alice and I therefore we're close. My room's across the hall and Alice's is two doors down on the same side as yours. Through there-" He said pointing to the door next to the window. "-Is your bathroom, it has one of the best views of the surrounding garden. I'll give you a proper tour later but most of the time you'll spend in the East wing, which we're in right now."

I nodded and he walked over, embracing me in his arms before kissing me softly. The soft kiss suddenly turned to a passion filled one that had us both grasping for air. I wasn't the one to pull back first though. To be perfectly honest I wouldn't stop kissing him if that was possible. Who needs to breathe anyway?

Edward led me back through the house, picking up Alice along the way to go meet his parents. I was nervous to say the least. I really hope that they like me or just find me acceptable to be staying in their home. It would be really awkward if they hated me since there is still three months left. I couldn't stay here if they didn't want me to.

Alice went off to get them leaving me and Edward in the living room, which had a more modern feel to it. He could tell I was nervous and was doing his best to try and calm me down. First impressions are usually crucial so I don't want to mess this up.

"Relax." Edward soothed as he gently rubbed my back. "They don't bite."

"I know I just...I'm worrying for nothing." He nodded in agreement just as Alice trotted back in, closely followed by their parents.

They both introduced themselves and seemed very friendly. From everything Edward said about Carlisle making him hunt for a bride or making him marry someone against his will I found it difficult to see the man before me who doted on his family do that to his son.

"Welcome to our home Bella. Hopefully you'll find everything to your liking. If there is anything wrong or you want anything whatsoever please just ask, we will be happy to help." Esme said sweetly.

"Thank you for having me."

"Oh you're very welcome. We love to have more people round the house. I would love to stay and talk but unfortunately we have to go. We'll see you at dinner tonight though. See you then." They both nodded and left the living room.

"See it wasn't so bad, was it?" Edward said, wrapping his arms round my waist and placing his head on my shoulder.

"No they're really nice. Completely different from how you painted them." He shrugged and kissed my cheek.

"Want to see the rest of the house?" I nodded and followed him out of the living room and into the main hall.

"There are different wings to each side of the house. The East wing is the more modern one which also has our bedrooms. The West wing is the kitchen quarters and the staff's area; no one really spends any time there. The other two wings you'll never be in. One is the old fashion area of the house. So basically all the old antiques and goods that we aren't allowed to touch but have to have. The other one is my parent's wing. You are welcome to go exploring and see all the rooms but do it during the daytime. The old wing gets locked at night and I would hate for you to be locked in and set the alarms off."

We spent the rest of the afternoon going round the house. He was right when he said I would spend most of my time in the east wing. It had everything we could possibly need. The rooms downstairs consisted of an extensive library, another living room (this one was much more casual), a billiards room, a games room, the indoor pool and a few other spare rooms for just hanging out in.

There was a drastic difference between the old wing than the rest of the house. The second I walked through doors it was like stepping back in time. It was a mix of interior decor from the late 1500s to the early 1900s.

"What is all of this?" I said pointing to all the different photos and belongings.

"Most of it is linked to our family history dating back through time. The house has been in the family for generations and a lot of these things are hundreds of years old. I don't know a lot about all of it, you're best to ask Carlisle, he can tell you more."

"So these people in these portraits are your family members?" He nodded. "Has your family always been this privileged?"

"I think so, wealth wise anyway. A lot of the people seen here died of disease, were executed by the state for treason or were murdered. Just because they had money didn't mean they had a great life. I would say they were privileged to have the wealth and opportunities they did but were limited by the restrictions set. I'm still marrying for wealth and so did they, not much has changed."

"Will I...will I meet your possible fiancé?" I asked nervously, glancing away from his piercing topaz eyes.

"Do you want to meet her?"

"Have you met her?" I asked trying to divert his attention off of that question. He shook his head and held my hands in his.

"I'll meet her in a few weeks but you won't be there. I wouldn't know how to explain that. Plus what's the point of meeting her if I won't marry her. She wouldn't affect us if I don't marry her and I don't intend to. I'll put this off as long as possible. Carlisle still needs to run me through everything about her and the situation. But if I confirm her as my fiancé you'll be first to know." Edward leant forward and kissed me slowly before we made our way back to the main part of the house.

I was going to meet their friends and was a little nervous. Jasper who I had already met was nice enough and he had reassured me I would be fine. My father gave me a brief update on his opinions about Jasper and their friend Emmett. I don't think I should take his opinion into much consideration since he seemed bias that they ended up in his police cell. Great way to make an impression.

When I entered the living room again my nerves bounced back in full force. When I met Alice and Edward I was shocked with how remarkably beautiful they both were and the same applied when I met Jasper. Their parents were also ridiculously good looking and now looking at Rosalie and Emmett I'm beginning to think that anyone who is associated with the Cullens has to be pretty or handsome. So I definitely don't fit in.

Before I had a chance to say hi I was engulfed in a bear hug from Emmett.

"God Emmett give the poor girl a chance." A voice said, I can only guess it was Rosalie since I didn't recognise the voice. I didn't detect any malice when she said 'poor girl' but I think that word was included on purpose.

"Sorry. I'm Emmett." He smiled sheepishly as he stepped back, allowing me to take in Rosalie properly. She made no move to introduce herself so I took it that maybe she wasn't particularly happy with my being there.

Now I was very nervous. As though Jasper sensed it he sent me a reassuring smile and got us all to sit down. We spent some time in there talking and getting to know each other, well me getting to know them. Emmett just seemed like a big kid at heart and was forever keeping us amused. His girlfriend on the other hand didn't say much and just added a few words in every now and then.

When they left Emmett gave me another hug and ruffled my hair, feeling completely comfortable around me. Jasper and Edward walked him to the door as Rosalie said goodbye to Alice then gave me a curt nod and small, almost minuscule smile.

"She doesn't like me." I said after she walked away.

"It's not like that. She's protective...especially of Edward. She knows that there is something there and she knows you're what's making Edward appear more cheery, back to his usual self. Give her some time and she'll warm up to you, I promise."

"Why is she so protective of Edward?" I asked watching as he said his goodbyes to her, they were whispering about something but I don't know what.

"There's history there. Don't worry they didn't date...it's not like she's some psycho ex-girlfriend of his. No definitely not, you'll meet them tomorrow at school."

With that Alice walked over to Jasper and the departed the hall to head upstairs. Her last comment had me a little worried. I felt like I was a lamb up for the slaughter. Also there definitely is something there between Rosalie and Edward. I don't want to impose on whatever friendship they have but Rosalie doesn't seem to like me and I'd like to know why.

Three months down and three to go. I think I can make it.


	19. Chapter 19: Propositions & Pleas

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Nineteen: Propositions & Pleas**

**2nd April**

**2 Months 3 Weeks & 6 Days Left**

_Bella's POV_

Just like yesterday I was nervous but this time the nerves were so bad I felt like my breakfast was going to come straight back up. But we weren't even at school yet, I was still in the car. I really hoped that my nerves weren't going to get to me. I would hate to make a scene on my first day.

We were all in Edward's Volvo and had just left their house so were still on the estate. Alice was in the back whilst I was in the passenger seat in the front. I hadn't asked any questions about what it was going to be like but Alice felt that I needed to be filled in anyway. Just so I'm more prepared.

"It's not exactly going to be a walk in the park but we'll all be there for you. Honestly there shouldn't be that much trouble as we kinda keep to ourselves. It'll just be the six of us. Some of the girls might give you a bit of hassle, Edward's psycho ex-girlfriends being jealous, but if there's a problem just come and tell us. We'll take care of it."

She paused as though judging whether or not she should tell me something. Instead she just shook her head and smiled blissfully. But the change didn't go unnoticed and Edward gave her a curious glance in the rear view mirror.

"When we get there I'll take you to get your timetable. You should be in the same classes as us but if you want to change just go to the office and they'll sort it out." Edward said eyes back on the road, which was good to see since he was driving ridiculously fast.

"Bella?" Alice said quietly. I knew she wanted something from the way she said it and I was a little apprehensive about what it could be.

"Yeah?" I eyed her curiously.

"Would you mind doing something after school?" Oh well that's not bad. Maybe I was just paranoid for nothing.

"No that would be fine. What are we going to do?" She perked up once I agreed. The glint in her eyes told me I wasn't out of the woods yet.

"You, Rose and I are going to go shopping!" She said excitingly. My face dropped and I felt like she was trying to torture me. Edward started chuckling when he saw my expression so I shot him a glare to keep him quiet. There is no need to laugh at my misery.

"Why do we need to go shopping?" Maybe I could get out of it.

"Because this weekend is the first of many social occasions we will be taking you to. It's a charity dinner for something. So you need to get a dress and shoes so we can make you drop dead gorgeous and give none of the snooty stuck up woman reason to bitch about you." Then she went off muttering about what to wear for it and what might look good on me. I tuned her out and turned to Edward who was still smirking.

"Do I have to go to this thing?" I asked hoping he would hear the pain in my voice of the prospect of attending.

"We could maybe find a way to get you out of it but then who would I take as my date?"He asked teasingly but there was still an edge of seriousness to it. The only thing I could think was why in god's name would he want to take me?

"Are you serious?" I croaked out which made him smile my favourite crooked smile. Great now I was dazzled into submission.

"Of course. I want the most beautiful woman in the room on my arm."

"So why are you taking me?" I blurted out. That was meant to be said in my head but it just slipped.

He turned to me frowning. I couldn't work out the emotions running across his face or what lay deep in his topaz eyes that were slowly darkening. I just bit my lip and looked down at my hands in my lap. He was still driving but was still looking at me. That nerved me a bit but not as much as the way he was looking at me.

"So will you be my date?" He asked ignoring what had just happened. I think Alice was doing the same because she seemed to have picked up on the tension rising in the car.

"If you want me to be."

"Do you want to be my date?" Clearly he wanted a proper answer. One I wasn't sure I wanted to give. In my heart I knew I would love to be his date and that thought alone makes the butterflies in my stomach flutter but I have to remember I can't get in too deep with him. This is just a fling even though it feels like so much more.

"Yeah that would be nice." I said quietly. He just nodded and continued driving. For the rest of the journey Alice filled me in on what teachers were nice and which were the ones that should be arrested for cruelty to children.

When we pulled up most eyes were on the car. I guess that made sense since they hadn't seen either of the Cullens since they left. Alice stepped out when Jasper came over and I was about to get out when Edward grabbed my hand.

"It'll be fine. I'm here if you need me." He smiled at me reassuringly then stepped out and raced round to open my door before I had a chance to do it myself. Always the perfect gentleman.

I could feel their eyes burning into me from all directions but tried to ignore it. Alice and Edward, followed by Jasper, dragged me through the throng of students and helped me pick up my timetable before escorting me to my first class. Neither of them were in it but I was okay with that. I think I could handle sometime without them protecting me. Turns out Emmett was in it though and ushered me over. He kept the mood light and relaxed me a bit more. This wasn't that bad actually.

At lunch we all sat at the same table, away from everyone else I noticed. They didn't acknowledge all the eyes on us but I know they felt it just as much as I did. Edward was getting quite angry about it actually and wanted to ask them to stop looking.

It wasn't until I had a class myself that the issues their fellow students had with me started to arise. Jasper walked me to the class then said goodbye reassuring me it'll be fine. That relaxed me a little more and I entered more confident than I was a few seconds previous.

Instead of focusing on the people around me I focused on the empty desks. Unfortunately not many people were sitting and I didn't know if there were set places or what so I just went for the one in the back corner. That way if they wanted to look at me they would have to turn round and make it obvious.

Just as I sat down a group of guys swarmed round me. I decided it would be better to hold my tongue and wait until they did whatever they came over here for. I was looking down at my timetable pretending that I was deeply interested in it when one guy stood towering over me. Where he stood he blocked anyone else's view of what was going on.

"You're in my seat." He said stoically. I sighed and grabbed my bag to move, there was no need to cause trouble and I didn't need the harassment. I stood up and tried to walk away but they were stopping me from getting out.

Finally taking them all in they all had their arms crossed over their chests and small smirks playing at their lips. Just like most people I saw here they were rather good looking too but from the waves of arrogance emitting off of them it quickly put me off.

"Can I get passed?" I asked. The one who spoke to me gently reached out and started stroking my arm.

"What's your name?" His voice was trying to be seductive but there was an edge of anger to it. I felt very uncomfortable here and very vulnerable. I wished _he _was here.

"Can I please get passed?" I asked again but the persistent one gripped my arm a little tighter.

"I asked you a question so answer me." Hoping once I gave him my name he would get lost I told him. "Ah so Edward's little whore does have a name then." I flinched at the venom in his voice but it went unnoticed.

"Let me pass." To my surprise my voice didn't break off at the end and reveal how nervous I was. "Let me pass please." I said it a little louder, wanting to draw people's attention to the back of the room so these guys would let off. To my utter shock many looked over but just turned back to their friends, diving deeper into conversation.

"So how much does he pay you?" I ignored him and just prayed that the teacher would arrive soon. "Come on _Bella _what are your daily rates?" He was stroking my waist and running his hand over my hip. The way he said my name filled me with fear. It sounded threatening almost tauntingly cruel. Like he wanted to get into my pants whether or not I was willing. His friends seemed to have the same idea.

Never in my life did I think I would be accosted for sex. Adrenaline was running through my veins when I slapped his hand away. He cocked his head to the side with anger burning in his deep blue eyes.

"So you like it rough. Well I can be rough. We can _all_ be rough." He said, just proving to me that his friends wanted to be a part of this aswell. Sick assholes. To be honest I was terrified. Yes we were in a room full of people but they were turning a blind eye to what was going on and I felt helpless.

"Here's fifty pence. I'll give you another one when I'm satisfied. Think of it as payment in advance." He grabbed my hand and placed it in my palm before they all walked away and sat down in their seats. One pound, that's all I was worth to them.

I don't know how I functioned the rest of that class. It seemed to be one big blur. The only bit I could remember clearly was with those jackasses. When I left the class Rosalie was outside waiting. I know she didn't like me so I was expecting there to be some awkward moment between us. She gave me a piercing look then glanced over my shoulder before whipping me away.

Even though Alice did tell me I was going to bump into a few of Edward's ex-girlfriends I really didn't expect them to just downright hate me from the go. Only Alice, Edward and I knew of the relationship between us but they all thought I was dating him. They were also convinced I was just a gold digger out for the biggest catch.

They made their glares obvious; their snarls as I approached grew louder, their 'accidentally' shoving harder as the day grew on. When school finally finished I was relieved I hadn't collapsed under the work load and the harsh treatment and couldn't wait just to get home to lie down. But then of course I remembered I was to go shopping with Alice and Rosalie.

Alice asked how everything was as Rose drove us to where ever it was we were going. I said it was fine and just mentioned some of the girls weren't particularly friendly. Leaving out the part about those guys. There was no need for her to worry. Rose caught my eyes in the rear view mirror and I felt like she knew I was leaving something out.

They led me to a few stores which I would never in a million years imagine myself shopping in. I explained that this was out of my price range and Alice just rolled her eyes and said she had it all covered. That brought out a mini protest in me. I did not want her spending money on me. Somehow I lost that argument and she did just like she had done last time I was shopping with her. She shoved me in a changing room and passed me clothes but instead of deliberating over whether they were right or not she just asked if I would wear it or not. If no then she would put it back.

I learnt quickly to turn things down but I had a funny feeling she was collecting a pile of clothes out there anyway that she would just buy. After a few more shops she found an acceptable one to look for a dress for me in. I was once again shoved in a changing room and they handed me dresses except this time I had to come out and show them what I looked like in it.

After about forty minutes we found one that I thought was nice enough. They wouldn't let me see the price tag and from the look of the dresses in here I knew it was probably worth more than my entire wardrobe. Luckily for me we didn't need to go shoe shopping. Alice said she had an amazing pair that would look great at home. So while she went off to pay for it all, she wouldn't let me come and see how much the total was, I waited with Rose.

"So I saw that you met James." She said coolly.

"James?" I asked confused.

"The asshole who propositioned you for sex." I looked over at her carefully to see her watching me. The first thing that popped into my mind was how did she know? I opened my mouth to ask but she cut me off. "Even though no one came to your aid they understood what was happening. Most people prefer to turn away and ignore his pig like behaviour. From experience I know this is going to become a problem. You should tell Edward." I shook my head.

"No. It was nothing. Edward doesn't need to know anything."

"You're wrong. It definitely wasn't nothing. James isn't one to joke about things like this. Trust me." It was almost a plea.

"Why do you care Rosalie?" I asked, a little harsher than I meant to.

"Because Edward cares about you and for once in god knows how long he looks happy. I wouldn't want to see that spark gone from him. You bring it out so it would be wise if you stuck around. I may not have been particularly nice when meeting you and am still a little unsure of you but I trust that you like Edward as much as he likes you so I know you won't hurt him." I could detect no malice in her voice and she sounded completely genuine.

"Did you and Edward da-" Before I even finished she smirked and shook her head.

"Not exactly. It was always thought I would be the one to marry Edward. His father thought there was a bond between us and my parents just agreed. I was already friends with Edward so it was a little weird at first to think I might end up marrying him. Then Emmett came along and the guy with the auburn hair and piercing topaz eyes no longer had my attention." I nodded understanding what she just said.

"I'm protective of him Bella because he's alone...or at least was alone. I love him like a brother now and don't want to see him get hurt. Give me some time and maybe we could be friends." She smiled sweetly and then Alice came over and joined us.

We drove home in silence since we were all rather tired. For some reason I felt like I understood Rose more now that she had explained a few things. Though my mind kept replaying what she said about James and telling Edward. I was going against her judgement and planned on keeping it to myself. There is no need to kick up a fuss for no reason.

Even though I was adjusting to their life slowly I still felt out of my depth. Things are so different, too different. I could never get used to a life like this, the constant scrutiny and struggle for wealth. It all seemed so unnatural and consuming. I have a funny feeling that the next three months are going to be the most challenging my little life has seen yet.


	20. Chapter 20: First Social

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twenty: First Social**

**5th April **

**2 months 3 Weeks & 2 Days Left**

_Bella's POV_

Tonight was the night that I went to the first social event. It was a charity fundraiser for something, I was never told what for. All I knew was that dignified musicians were asked to perform a piece of theirs throughout the evening. There was also a silent auction taking place, I was rather interested to see what the items they were going to bid for.

It turned out that Edward was one of the 'dignified musicians' and was to play a piece tonight. I was looking forward to that since for the one time I heard him play it was beautiful. Even though I wanted to see that I really didn't want to go.

I struggled at school and it turns out that most of students there will be at this thing tonight with their parents. So basically it's going to be like school all over again. Alice continued to reassure me that everyone would be there for me but they said that at school and that wasn't the case. Obviously I don't expect them to protect me, I don't need protection, and I just don't want to be put in that situation again.

Looking round the house I found a room I hadn't seen before. It was a balcony overlooking what can only be described as a ballroom below. In the centre of the floor was a black grand piano and sitting at the piano stool was Edward playing a beautiful piece. I didn't recognise it but had a suspicion it could be one of his own. He had previously mentioned that he wrote his own music when we were still at my house.

I watched him play one tune then he just abruptly stopped and ran his hand through his already dishevelled hair. Who knows what changed but he seemed a little riled up. I continued to stay silent when he removed the sheet music and placed it next to him on the floor then started playing an entirely different piece from memory.

It was beautiful and just flowed perfectly. He had his eyes shut and looked so at peace it was captivating. I just stood there watching and listening to him play. When he hit the last note he opened his eyes again and looked up, finally noticed me. I didn't want him to be angry with me listening so set him a small apologetic smile.

"How long have you been standing there?" HE asked calmly.

"Several minutes. Beautiful piece by the way. Is that what you intend to play tonight?" He stood and gathered his things before answering.

"No I'm playing a different one. It works better than that one." He just shrugged and left the room.

I felt like an idiot for intruding then. He only stopped playing and left because I was there. I knew he would have wanted to practice and now he can't because I got in the way. Rolling my eyes at my own stupidity I left the upstairs balcony and went to go find Alice. Maybe she can distract me from thinking about what's going on between her brother and me.

_Edward's POV_

We were leaving the house in ten minutes. Bella had spent the rest of the afternoon with Alice and Rose getting ready while Jasper, Emmett and I messed about the house before finally getting dressed. It takes us about ten minutes in total to get ready but they spent hours in Alice's room.

The three of us were gathered at the bottom of the stairs in the main hall and waited for them to come down. Carlisle and Esme had already made their way to the hall so that they could greet and set things up for the coming guests. They decided to help out for the silent auction.

I was messing about with the white bow tie on my tuxedo as it felt like it was chocking me when Rose walked in wearing a stunning red dress. Emmett was like an enthusiastic puppy on Roses heels when she walked down the stairs. He seemed to forget the rest of us were in the room, but it wasn't like Jasper minded since Alice walked in a few seconds after wearing a dress quite similar to Rose's except it was in black.

They greeted each other and I was beginning to get the feeling Bella had made a run for it when she had a chance. The four of them made their way out to the cars that were going to take them to the event. Each couple had their own car so I couldn't leave without Bella, not that I would want to.

Sighing I ran a hand over my eyes; I was very exhausted from sleep deprivation. When I removed my hand I saw a figure in a blue dress standing on the stairs. Focusing in on it Bella stood there smiling softly, completely taking my breath away. The dress had her look amazing, better than amazing, so good I was literally speechless.

She descended the stairs and ended in my arms, wrapping them round my neck and pulling me into a chaste kiss. I basked in her familiar scent of strawberries and felt like I was in heaven. I had to be otherwise this angel wouldn't be here with me.

"I thought you had made a run for it." I whispered as I kissed along her jaw, needing to be close to her.

"I couldn't get out the windows, they were all locked." She said, pulling back so I could see her eyes.

"Should I be offended?" Did she not want to be my date?

"No. I wasn't running from you, just the world you live in." I kissed her again. Trying to reassure her that I was there if she needed me.

I knew the school week had been hard for her even though she never admitted to it. People didn't want to get to know Bella because they just figured she was a blip and would eventually go away. I, on the other hand, wanted her around forever though I could never admit to it.

"Shall we go?" I asked as I led her towards the car. Apprehensively she followed and soon we were on our way.

Once we arrived at the hall where the event was being held I had to leave Bella in the company of Alice so I could prepare for what I was going to play. Just before I left her Bella pulled me off to the side.

"You nervous?" She asked, standing further away than I would like. I had to remember we were in public and our relationship was a secret.

"Slightly. I'm second guessing what to play."

"Play the one that moves you. If you're second guessing then I can only presume that you are unsure about the one you were going to play. At the end of the day you wrote it, you put your emotions into it and you're allowing people to hear those emotions through music." I paused and thought over what she said.

Without even realising it she made my heart jump. I wanted so badly to kiss her but knew I couldn't. Nodding I walked away to prepare myself. She had decided for me what I was going to play so there were no worries there. I had memorised that piece of by heart since it was written from what I felt in my heart.

I waited until it was m turn to play and walked out to the grand piano. The evening started off with drinks then the music performance part, followed by the silent auction, then ending it with a meal. Sitting down on the stool I surveyed the room quickly, looking for her eyes. The second instant contact was made I began playing, eventually tearing my eyes away to concentrate on the piece at hand.

Once the last note was played I stood up quickly, received my applause then walked away briskly. Bella greeted me just off to the side, out from under the scrutiny of eyes following her. I led her through a few doors so we were in a deserted corridor.

She opened her mouth to say something but I kissed her before she had the chance. I needed her. I wanted her. There were so many emotions pilling out of me at that point I needed a helpful way to dispose of them and kissing Bella did just that.

"That was amazing." She mumbled, pulling back from my lips.

"The kiss or the music?"

"Both."

"I wrote it for you." Her lips were on mine again and this time I don't think we would have stopped, even to breath. The thing that made us pull apart was the booming laugh that made its way down the corridor.

"I knew you had a thing for her!" Emmett cheered loudly. Bella blushed and straightened out her dress before walking away embarrassed.

"Thanks for that." I mumbled coolly as I went to find Bella.

We made our way round the party that night, enjoying the company. The silent auction went well and apparently a lot of money was raised. In my opinion Bella wasn't shunned like I expected her to be but I have a funny feeling a few things happened without my knowing. I'll talk to Alice, she'll tell me.

At the end of the night Bella and I retreated to the car for the journey home. In here I didn't have to worry about us being together since no one would know. That is one part of our relationship I hate, the secrecy. I would love to shout from the rooftops but know what we're doing, by keeping it a secret, it better for everyone. It leaves no mess to clean up on July 1st.

"I have a question?" Bella said, looking out the window.

"Go ahead." She turned to me and tweaked my bow tie.

"Why were some of the men wearing black bow ties and some wearing white?"

"The white bow tie indicated that they are an eligible bachelor and the black ones were for the men that were taken." It was just something a few of the women whose husbands were getting regularly hit on thought of. I hated it as it pointed out who was rich and single.

"Oh." Was all she said. I wanted to tell her that I would have liked to have worn a black one since I do consider us as being together but I knew if I did then I'd have to answer some pretty nerving questions.

_Bella's POV_

Awkward silence filled the car after I asked that question. Never in a million years did I think that was going to be the answer and I wasn't quite ready for the repercussions of it. But at least I knew he didn't think of us as a couple. That could have been embarrassing if I assumed we were when in fact we weren't. Better knowing now than never.

I put on a brave face all night but really felt like collapsing from exhaustion. The women there sure can bitch. It turned out even in some of their drunken stupor stages they were still able to slur out insults to me. I ignored it but still felt their eyes on me. It was like the first day of school all over again.

Thank god James wasn't there tonight. He's left me alone at school but only because I've changed my timetable so I don't have any classes alone with him. There's always one of the five there. It seems as though Emmett's the most protective of us, the girls, when he's around. I feel like they all know something I don't.

Leaning over I kissed Edward before relaxing against his chest, listening to his soft rhythmic heartbeat. I hate to admit this since it'll only cause problems but I would love to stay in his arms forever.


	21. Chapter 21: Proper Etiquette

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Proper Etiquette**

**April 14th**

**2 Months 2 Weeks & 3 Days Left**

_Bella's POV_

I was woken up early by Alice so that Edward could start these silly etiquette lessons. I know they're only trying to help me fit in more but it really is ridiculous. After breakfast I joined Edward in the ballroom where I had previously seen him play the piano.

The room had changed since the last time I had seen it. The grand piano had been pushed to the side away from the middle of the floor. There was a table set up with the entire cutlery laid out; obviously he was going to teach me dinner manners. There was also another table with a few random things on it and Edward leaning against said table.

"Glad you could make it." He smiled.

"Did I have a choice?" He smirked but shook his head.

"No not really. It'll help if you do this willingly though."

"What exactly is this?" I asked, taking a seat. Edward pulled one out next to me and joined me at the table with the place settings.

"This is like an introduction into the years of etiquette lessons Alice and I had to go through. Obviously you won't be tested on everything we had to do since floral arranging and how to make a perfect baked Alaska isn't something you'll be doing tomorrow evening."

"What will you be teaching me then?"

"We will start with the basics, walking."

"I already know how to walk." I told him pointedly. If this was some joke about my clumsiness then he had another thing coming. Instead Edward smiled brightly and rolled his eyes.

"I know you know how to walk but this is different. You'll be wearing high heels and a floor length ball gown. Do you think you'll be able to walk in them without falling?" Okay so he had a point.

"Continue." I folded my arms over my chest, not impressed that I would have to wear heels tomorrow night. They're death traps and frankly I don't need the hassle.

"Once you've learnt to walk properly we'll attempt dancing-"

"Dancing! Are you kidding me Edward? How am I meant to dance in heels and a ball gown that'll no doubt get wrapped round my ankles?" I whined. This was just not going to work.

"That's why we're practicing today."

"But I don't have a dress yet." I pointed out. Maybe I could get out of dancing completely.

"Yes well I have something just as good." With that Edward stood up and went to the table to grab a white sheet. I raised my eyebrows at him as he came back over smirking.

"I'm not wearing that." He rolled his eyes and pulled me up so I was standing next to him.

"Don't be so stubborn. The length on this thing will be the same on the dress you'll wear so this is the perfect practicing tool. Now put it on." He thrust it into my arms.

"I'm not just wearing a sheet." He smirked and circled round me, resting his head on my shoulder and ever so slowly kissing my neck.

"I'm not asking you _just _to wear a sheet. But if you wanted to I certainly wouldn't object. In fact I could even help you get out of these silly clothes." His hand had started to wander so I stepped away from him quickly blushing. No doubt if we continued the etiquette lessons would be out the window and we would be partaking in other, more fun, activities.

I quickly wrapped the sheet round me and tied the top in a knot to stop it sliding down my front. Edward stood smirking as he took in my opinion. Silently he walked over and grabbed a pair of heels from behind one of the chairs and handed them to me. I used his to help me balance as I put on the death traps that were surely going to break my neck.

"Let's fix your sheet." Edward suggested before untying it.

"Why? What's wrong with it?" I asked confused.

"Well you've got it the wrong way to its exceedingly long and you have about a meter of sheet pooling at your feet. We're trying to keep you on them today, not make you fall with every step you take." After the sheet was fixed Edward held out his arm for me to wrap mine through it.

"I'll lead you for now then we can practice doing it on your own."

Now I honestly thought this was pointless but soon was proved wrong. It turned out that the sheet would get caught on my heels and send me flailing forward. We spent about an hour trying to get me to walk properly before Edward even thought of letting me do it by myself. Such tedious work but as I found out it was necessary unless I wanted to spend all of tomorrow night on my face or ass.

Once I mastered that to a certain degree, I was still a bit wobbly but Edward said he wouldn't leave my side all night so I could use him for help, we moved onto the dancing. He insisted it was all in the leading but I assured him that no matter how good a dancer he was I would never get better.

Edward tried to teach me two dances, the foxtrot and the waltz, but gave up on the foxtrot since it was taking so long to learn the waltz. The sheet just proved impossible and kept getting caught under my feet or Edward's. He was being as patient as possible with me but I could see he was getting slightly agitated.

We spent two hours doing that and I seriously thought my feet were going to fall off from the heels. Edward decided to be nice and let me change back into some normal shoes so I didn't cause myself more injuries when we went on to do more things.

"Right, I guess we'll move onto the place settings for the dinner." Edward led me over to the table, allowing me to remove the sheet, and sat me down in one of the chairs.

Taking a look at the layout of the cutlery before me had me very worried. There were four forks, two spoons, one unknown skewer object next to the two knives, five glasses, a napkin and two plates. If he expects me to know what to use each of these for then he is certainly mistaken. Why in heavens name do I need _five _drinks?

"Have you seen a place setting like this before?" He asked gently. I shook my head, still astounded about the way it was laid out. "Okay then that means we're starting from scratch. To make it simple we'll start with your cutlery." Which one there are loads?

"As you can see there are five forks on the table, normal table etiquette says that you can only have three of one implement on the table at once, with the exception of the oyster fork."

"What's that?" He leant forward and pointed to the skewer thing next to my knives. "But all the forks are on the left so why isn't over there?" I asked. Why don't they just keep it simple and have all the forks on one side and all the knives on the other?

"Because they don't, it doesn't work that way. So you have your three forks here, they will be on the table since the beginning of the dinner. You work from the outside in. The same applies for your knifes. This spoon and fork up here at the top of the plate are for dessert and won't be brought out until dessert is being served. Understood?" I nodded though I was a little lost.

"On the right side of the plate you have the oyster fork then your soup spoon and your knifes. The menu will be something like an appetizer which you will use the oyster fork for, the first course which will be soup, then the fish course so you'll use the fish knife and fork, then the main course so you'll use the service knife and the dinner fork, the salad might be served at the same time or just after the main course and that will require you to use your salad fork. After all that they will bring out the desserts and give you a dessert spoon and a cake fork, you can use whatever one you see fit. Okay so far?" I nodded again, just to keep him going.

"Now your glasses, obviously you won't need five drinks but you get them anyway. All the glasses will be on the table at the start of the meal and as we progress they will gradually fill up. The glasses will be right above the knives and once you've taken a drink please for the love of god put it back there. You'll see when we get there that you won't have any elbow room. There are usually a certain number of inches between you and the next guest so you can't move any of the implements." He paused to catch his breath then continued.

"The drinks, well you'll have a water tumbler, a white wine glass, a red wine glass, a sherry glass and a champagne flute may be on the table aswell. You will drink from the different glasses during different courses. The white wine with the fish and the red with the main course etc. I advise you not to finish your glasses of wine unless you want more. The waiters won't leave them empty and you will end up with countless refills."

"Great so not only am I going to make a fool of myself when I use the wrong fork but I'll also be drunk whilst doing so." I rolled my eyes and slumped back in the chair. Edward didn't say anything so I turned to see him grinning sweetly at me.

"Look I know this is hard." I scoffed and let him carry on. "But you'll be fine."

"You don't know that. What if I knock over one of my glasses?" I asked panicked because that does sound like something I would do.

"Then I'll knock the candle in the centre piece over and start a mini bonfire." I wanted to scold him for teasing at a time like this but he was being deadly serious.

"You would set fire to the table for me?"

"Every time." He pulled me into a hug. "But I would really prefer if I didn't have to do that. So if you can help it don't knock over a glass." I pulled back and kissed him softly.

"I'll try." He nodded and looked back at the table.

"I know it's confusing. I've been learning this for years and you'll only a few hours to master it but I will be with you throughout the whole meal and if you are confused just look at me. I'll have my hands at the ready to point to the one you'll use next. With your hands please don't put your elbows on the table, I don't expect you to but it's just another reminder. "I nodded, now I could follow that rule.

"So far there are only two dinners where you will need to remember this, the one tomorrow and another in a couple of weeks, we'll practice it more later. Shall we have a run through?" I nodded hesitantly.

We spent god only knows how long going through what to use for what meal. Edward would tell me what I was having and I had to select the correct cutlery or drink. Eventually he decided that I was familiar enough with it and that we should do something fun since the day had been rather boring. Even though it was boring learning all that stuff I did have fun learning it with him, which was my plus to the torture I just ensued.

"Do you want to go swimming?" He asked as we walked back upstairs to his room.

"Where?"

"Well there is the pool or the river?" I forgot they had a pool and I certainly didn't know that there was a river running through their estate.

"Either." I don't mind.

"Okay let's do it this way. The cold river or the warm pool?"

"The warm pool." The river was outside and knowing me I'd get sick or something. Best just to stay indoors.

"Good. Do you want to go get changed up here or down there?" He asked as he rooted through his drawers for his trunks.

"I don't have anything to wear." He turned and smirked.

"That's not a problem." I glared at him until he shook his head and continued. "Alice bought you a few things." I groaned inwardly, who knows what monstrosity she wants to put me in? "They're in your room on the fourth drawer down I think." He shrugged and started changing so I dashed out the room and shut the door behind me.

Looking in the drawer he said I found three bikinis, all a little more revealing than I would have liked. The only difference between them was their colours. Deciding just to go with the plainest I settled for the dark blue one. I changed in my room and I'm glad I did since I practically felt naked with so little material covering me. I will get Alice back for this.

Deciding that I was not walking through the house like this I threw on a rugby shirt that was like a dress on me which I found in my closet. I padded through the house after checking Edward's room; he must have gone down to the pool. When I entered he was sitting at the edge of the pool opposite me, smiling at my appearance.

"Please tell me you're not swimming in that, it'll drown you." I looked over what he was wearing, or not wearing, and blushed. His chest better looking now than it was without all those bruises on it. He really looked amazing.

"No...it's just I'm not so sure on...I feel uncomfortable with how little material I'm wearing under it."I admitted sitting down on the other side of the pool and slipping my legs up to my shins in the nice warm water. Of course they had a heated pool.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as your making it out to be. Take off the rugby shirt?" He requested, setting the full force of his eyes on me which broke down my defence and I hesitantly slipped it off and placed it behind me, finally turning to see Edward.

He was sitting there frozen, hands in lap, mouth partly opened, legs stationary in the water, and his topaz eyes looking at my body. I blushed feeling even more self-conscious than before. Quickly I folded my arms over my chest, to give myself some reassurance that I wasn't flashing in this nonexistent bikini.

Edward remained frozen for what felt like forever though it was probably only a few seconds. He had licked his lips several times and swallowed rather obviously more times than I could count. It was as though a trance was suddenly broken when he shot his head down into his lap.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare." He mumbled, clearly embarrassed, before sliding into the pool. I noticed he was standing and the water level went up to just below his shoulders. I slid in aswell; the water lever was just above my shoulders and made my way towards him.

"You looked...I mean you look...breathtaking." He whispered when I was standing within inches of him. "You completely floored me there and I'm sure if I had been standing I would have hit the floor." I blushed again and shook my head. He's probably just trying to make up for the fact me was staring for so long.

Edward wrapped my arms round his neck and then manoeuvred my legs so that they wrapped round his waist under the water. I felt slightly uncomfortable but all was forgotten when he kissed me. His lips were just to die for. We would have remained like that but were once again interrupted by Emmett who decided to cannon ball into the pool, completely soaking us.

I disentangled myself from Edward, blushing furiously at the position I had been caught in, and took in the scene before me. Alice was standing smirking an all knowing look at us, Jasper looked surprised but just shook his head laughing, Emmett was running out the pool in his boxers to dive bomb in again and Rose's look was hard to decipher.

She didn't look mad but she didn't seem pleased with something either. After the four of them got changed and joined us Rose indicated for me to come over. I apprehensively swam away from the others who were setting up a volleyball net across the pool.

"Have you told him?" She asked, inspecting her nails with her legs in the water.

"Told who what?" I had a slight idea what she was talking about but didn't want to bring it up here.

"Told Edward about James." I shook my head and she sighed loudly.

"Look Bella I'm telling you as a friend stop being an idiot and tell him already. I told Emmett-" I cut her off.

"Why?!" I said a bit too loudly, catching the others attention for a few seconds. The look Edward held told me I was going to inform him of what we had been talking about.

"Emmett can look out for you. Bella I don't think you know what you're dealing with here."

"I don't care, it was nothing. Nothing happened. I don't need Emmett looking out for me Rose. I don't need protecting." She stood up and started to walk away before turning round once more.

"I said the same thing." She walked over to Emmett and wrapped herself in his arms. I didn't understand what she was getting at but didn't have time to think about it as Edward walked over concerned.

"What was that about?" He was worried about me.

"Nothing." I lied. He didn't need to know. He would just worry more and that's not what I need right now. He didn't seem to buy it but let it drop anyway.

This was certainly a complication I didn't need at this moment, lying to Edward. I'm only doing it to help him. I don't want him getting hurt. I don't want any of them getting hurt that's why I'm trying to keep this to myself. But I really shouldn't be thinking about this at the moment. My nerves should be round tomorrow night's ball and the pressure of remembering everything Edward taught me.

I kissed him quickly, looking for a distraction, but couldn't help the gnawing feeling at the back of my mind telling me I'd made a mistake somewhere along the way and it was going to come back and bite me.


	22. Chapter 22: Cute Ass

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Cute Ass**

**15th April**

**2 Months 2 Weeks & 2 Days Left**

_Bella's POV_

The diner wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. No spilt drinks, no fires. I didn't mess up since Edward was there to help me at all costs. The dancing went rather well and I didn't fall the entire night, though that probably had to do more with my partner rather than my ability to dance or walk in those shoes.

The six of us headed back to the house to some 'fun and games' according to Emmett. I wasn't quite following what that entailed until the guys set up a table for poker. Now I simply thought we were going to play poker for cash but when they didn't bring out money I got slightly worried.

"What are we playing?" I asked nervously.

"Strip poker!" Emmett declared happily. "We finally have three girls and three guys so we have to play. I was told that we would all play strip poker when there were three girls and three guys so Bella you have to play. Please don't upset me?" He tried to give me what can be only described as puppy eyes.

"Fine I'll play." I gave up and conceded.

"Bella have you played poker before?" Alice asked shuffling the cards.

"I've played a little bit or regular poker before but never strip poker." The guys all smirked and I could only guess that they thought I was going to lose easily.

"Well maybe we should do a practice round. You know, just to get warmed up." Jasper suggested. He was either trying to see how bad I was or was being genuine about warming up.

The rules of the game were pretty simple. It was just like 5 card poker except we were only given two chips. Every time you fold you give in one chip and if you don't have any chips to fold you have to play. We decided that the winner gets to choose whose clothes they would want to remove, therefore allowing us to play a little longer than we would otherwise. I think they only decided this because they felt that I was going to lose every time.

Edward was the one who suggested that rule and he told me that it's okay if I'm not very good, I'd get the hang of it. He was being slightly cocky and thinking I was going to be terrible. He was underestimating my abilities and I was not a fan. Therefore I decided to use that to my full advantage.

_Alice's POV_

Edward was being his usual self, an asshole, from the second it was decided that we were going to play a variation of poker. Every time we play for money he wipes the floor with us. I don't know how he got so good at it but he did and I hate playing him. Obviously I'm going to be safe here since when Edward wins he's not going to ask his sister to undress, definitely not. Therefore I stand a better chance than the rest of them.

I am slightly worried for Bella since she seems unsure with what she's doing and a little apprehensive. Edward might make her his target for the night and I really don't want her to feel she has to take off more clothes than she's comfortable with.

We didn't get changed so automatically the guys have on more clothes than us. We like to start off even so there is no claim of someone cheating; it usually comes down to that between Emmett and Edward.

"Okay so the rules with the clothes, belts, bowties, shoes and socks don't count, everything else does and once we get back from getting changed we'll play." I told them as Rose and Bella followed me out of the room.

After getting changed the six of us were all wearing six items of clothing that counted for the game. We did a practice round, not removing clothes and Bella lost miserably, she didn't have anything with her cards and I could tell from the smug look all the guys had that they thought she was going to be easy prey. Rose also seemed perkier with Bella's lack of poker skills.

God I hope she's wearing matching underwear since that lot seem to have found their victim.

"Right can we begin?" Emmett asked excitedly rubbing his hands together. From there Edward dealt us our cards.

One card was dealt face down then the rest were to be dealt face up. For the first game no one folded and just as suspected Edward won. He saved Bella this time round and went for Emmett since this was his genius idea then he should get us started with the striping. Emmett didn't mind and just removed his jacket.

The games continued and the drinks kept getting refilled and some more clothes were abandoned on the floor. Bella had lost every game so far but Edward and Rose, who was also on a winning streak, hadn't picked her yet.

The only ones to remove clothes were Emmett, Edward and Rose. I think they were all trying to get to each other so that their strongest competition would leave the game. I doubt any of us would still play naked, well maybe Emmett but other than that, if we lost all our clothes we would leave. Very quickly.

The cards were dealt and Edward was sitting with a pair of kings dealt face up. He had his confident smirk in place and thought he had it in the bag. Bella was still playing though she had garbage by the seems of her cards, ace high, and that was not going to help her. The rest of us either had a pair, not as high as Edward's, or nothing.

Edward, having decided he had the best hand spoke up before all our cards had been shown.

"Jasper, you're looking a little over dressed. I'll have your jacket please."

"Wait." Bella said turning over her cards. Surprisingly she had a pair of aces and Edward's face fell. He was beaten, not the first time but I think he was surprised that _Bella _beat him. "I'll have your waistcoat please Edward." She asked smiling innocently, elated that she won. He sat there flabbergasted for a while then slowly began to remove it, handing it to her.

"I can't believe I won." She said as she inspected his waistcoat. "I knew I was good at this." The guys put their heads down, trying not to smirk. "I'll have your boxers by the end of the evening so get ready to strip." She said confidently, not even a blush, to Edward.

Jasper, Emmett and Rose were out right laughing at the absurdity of the situation. I sat there worrying about what my dear brother was about to unleash on naive Bella.

"Is that so?" He asked shuffling the cards. "I think I'll get your bra and panties by the time the night is over. I don't lose often Bella. You still think you'll get my boxers?" It was a challenge and the rest of us loved it.

"I'm more confident now than I ever was." She smirked artlessly.

"So you accept my challenge?" He was far too confident for his own good right now.

"Oh yeah."

"Rules?" He stated, eager to begin.

"I can only remove your clothes and you can only remove mine. Oh and since you're so confident that you'll beat me you won't mind that we'll be continuing with the clothes we're already wearing." That meant Bella had six items to be removed and Edward had four. "Think you can handle that?"

"Certainly." The arrogance was rolling off of him and Bella was lapping it up. She had a certain glint in her eyes that seemed devilishly dangerous, like she knew something we didn't.

I hope for her sake that a miracle happens and she at least wins a few hands before Edward feels sorry for her and stops taking her clothes.

Since they were having their own little challenge the rest of us just decided to continue like they weren't available as options. Rose had a glint on me and Emmett, she wouldn't ask for Jasper's clothes since he is her brother. Jasper was okay at poker so he stood a chance but that meant me and Emmett were going to be his targets, again he wouldn't ask his sister to remove her clothes.

So I guess things just got a little interesting.

_Edward's POV_

I loved the idea of a challenge, especially when she was that confident. It only had a slight nagging feeling in the back of my mind that someone as bad as her wouldn't be so sure she was going to win. Hell she won on a fluke before so I doubt she'll be able to beat me.

I believe you're mistaking the confidence for arrogance.

My speciality was reading people. I win easily because I know what everyone else had. I don't count cards or cheat but I just have this talent of knowing what cards they have. People are predictable and I can tell whether or not they have anything good or bad in their hand but with Bella, I honestly was surprised that she had something worthy, let alone a winning hand.

From then on out it was a constant battle between us. Whoever won ended up with a smug grin when they asked for that persons clothing. The game went on for most of the night and by this time we were all on our way to being drunk. We were all close to being finished since we all didn't have a lot of clothes on. Emmett was only in his boxers, Jasper was in his boxers and t-shirt, Alice was in a tank-top, skirt and bra, Rose was in bra and panties, Bella was in a shirt and panties and I was in a t-shirt and boxers.

The next game was going to be crucial if either Bella or I won. We would both lose our shirts except she didn't have a bra on under since I already won that. I don't mind taking off my top but I really think she will.

The cards were dealt and I was glad to say I had a possible flush. Bella had a pair so she was doing better than me at that point. As the cards continued to be dealt I had a definite flush and Bella had two pairs. For some reason I wasn't getting the same satisfaction for taking her clothes, yes I would like her to take it off but perhaps not in front of everyone else. The others in the group had all folded out only leaving it to us.

"I'm sorry." I said, flipping over my last card, showing her the flush of hearts.

"Why?" She asked turning over her card. A full house. The grins all widened on my friends and sibling as they saw Bella had beaten me. Well it wasn't over yet, I still had my boxers.

I removed my t-shirt and passed it to her. She was smiling at me coyly, rather pleased with herself. Somehow this wasn't the same girl we were playing earlier. Before this challenge Bella was dreadful, truly atrocious. But now, well she's actually kicking my ass. This hasn't happened before. I'm usually the winner, not the loser.

"Thank you. So ready for our final game?" She asked, shuffling the cards and making a mess of it. Yeah she's definitely an amateur. I can beat her.

"We still have two games left. But the real question is, are you ready to sit half naked in front of us?" She was dealing but really slowly.

"I won't have to. But I am looking forward to you stripping." There was a slight blush on her cheeks but other than that I would say she was one hundred percent confident that she was going to win.

"You know if you wanted to see me undress all you had to do was ask." The red tint increased on her cheeks but she just pursed her lips and looked at her cards. Deciding it was time to focus I did the same. There is no way I'm getting naked in front of them, Emmett and Jasper would never let me live it down.

_Bella's POV_

I glanced at Edward's cards and just about died. He had what looks to be a straight-flush of spades, the top hand. Nothing I had could beat him. The dread washed over my face and Jasper sent me a reassuring smile. Alice didn't seem put off at all by what Edward had and encouraged me just to continue to the end.

All I had was a lousy pair of twos and three garbage cards. He had won and I was going to have to lose my second last item of clothing. I could give him my panties but I really don't think the shirt is long enough to cover me up completely, especially if I had to walk away from the table.

Surprisingly there was no smug look on Edward's face, maybe he was feeling bad about this. I certainly was dreading it. Though I'm guessing they wouldn't force me to undress. Sighing I waited for Edward to demand my shirt.

"So what you got?" He asked calmly.

"A pair of twos." I started undoing the top buttons when he flipped over his card last card. A three of hearts.

He had four spades and one heart.

I won.

It didn't register until Alice and Rose practically cheered and Emmett and Jasper were laughing hysterically. I won.

I won Edward Cullen's boxers.

The grin plastered across my face must have made me look insane but I was elated. Edward on the other hand had his face in his hands groaning. The blush then crept across my face as I thought of him getting naked. A goofy grin and bright red blush then hit m so I looked down into my lap, hoping that my curtain of hair would hide what I was thinking about.

"So come on Edward, give Bella your boxers." Emmett encouraged, slapping him on the back.

"Oh disgusting." Alice said covering her eyes with her hands then turning herself into Jasper's shoulder so that she couldn't see anything.

Edward stood up apprehensively and shook his head smirking. He probably hated that he had to do this but was going to do it anyway. He looked at me grinning broadly.

"I just want to say that when I get the chance I will get you back for this." I laughed and looked at him expectantly. He briskly pulled his boxers off, immediate blush then threw them at me and walked away.

"Cute ass Eddie!" Emmett called as he left.

I couldn't help but look when he pulled then off. I did not want to look _there _but it was like my eyes were a moth drawn to a flame. My cheeks have probably never burned more crimson than in those three seconds. When he walked away I looked over again when Emmett yelled.

That was one thing I did agree with though. He definitely has a cute ass.

This was one night I will never forget.


	23. Chapter 23: Edward Find's Out

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Edward Finds Out**

**2nd April**

**2 Months 3 Weeks & 6 Days Left**

_Rosalie's POV _

I was waiting outside Bella's classroom to take her to her next class. To be honest I didn't have a problem with the girl. I just didn't want her to hurt Edward. He's a great guy and it was obvious he liked her but our world is a bit different from hers and I don't know if she would be willing to stick around long enough to see if it's worth it.

As I was inspecting my nails and becoming slightly impatient with how long this girl was taking James walked out the classroom with his band of loyal minions. I knew he was going to say something to me before he even opened his mouth. I just didn't think it would be anything about Bella.

"So I met Edward's little whore." He smirked as I continued to ignore him. There is no need to let him know I was listening. "She's got quite a nice body too. I would love to get my hands on her. You remember my hands on your body, don't you Rose. My beautiful deflowered Rose."

I knew he couldn't walk away from me without mentioning something about that. But still I decided to leave this to the guys. Emmett would take care of this when I tell him. Also I'm sure Edward will want to help when he finds out James has met Bella.

"I wonder how Bella likes it?" He pondered to himself. "Do you think she likes it rough like you?" I continued to look ahead, wishing Bella would hurry and get her arse out here or that Emmett will come along any second and break this up.

"Bella certainly has this wild streak to her and I hope she lets it run wild in the bedroom. I can't wait to have her shuddering beneath me, crying out my name. She'll be begging for it, they all are, just like you."

"What makes you think that Bella would sleep with you?" I shouldn't have asked but I wanted to see how deluded he was about this.

"Even if she's not willing to sleep with me it doesn't matter. One way or another she'll be beneath me, shuddering, the only difference is she'll be crying out for Edward or someone to help her. It makes it all the more exciting!" James softly stroked my breast and my natural reactions took over. I slapped him and pushed him backwards to his lackeys.

"Don't you dare touch her. I swear to God you won't get off as easy as you did last time-"

"On the contrary I will get off very easily. I got off rather well with you moaning for help and I'm sure Bella's moans and cries will be just as satisfying."He smirked broadly then kissed my cheek. "See you later my rose petal."James walked a few feet back to talk to another set of guys.

I grimaced from his touch and wiped my cheek from his disgusting lips. The guy is poison. He destroys anything he ever touches and he has a sadistic side that takes over. He's also a threat to any girl within a ten mile radius of him but that doesn't deter then from dating, screwing or longing for him.

If they only knew what a sick bastard he really was.

Bella came out a few seconds later, she must have been waiting until the very end of class, hoping that she wouldn't see James and his friends hanging about. I gave her a look as though to say I know what's going on then looked over her shoulder.

James was talking to a few of the guys and one of James' current girlfriends. The three of them were the closest out of the lot and had each other's backs when needed. They knew what James got up to and on many occasions Laurent, his jackass of a friend, would help. The whole thing made me sick to my stomach.

The group of them were watching us a little too closely for my liking. I knew those looks. So I grabbed Bella's arm and pulled her away, hoping to get to Emmett or one of the guys before anything kicked off.

I would have to talk to Bella about all this. Everyone underestimates James. They think he's either a sweet guy who can do no wrong or an asshole whose bark it worse than his bite. Well I can definitely say from experience that his threats are a warning of what he's capable of doing and if given the opportunity would do it.

Edward definitely needs to know. Either Bella tells him or I will since this is too serious to mess about with.

**April 21st**

**2 Months 2 Weeks & 1 Day Left**

I'd given her enough time and yet she still hadn't told him. This was getting completely ridiculous. Bella has exactly nineteen days to tell Edward about what happened between her and James but she hasn't.

Is this girl stupid or just plain ignorant to the fact that she's putting herself in danger?

Either way I'd had enough. I was going to tell Edward if she won't. But since I can be nice at sometimes I'll give her one more chance before I go over there and spill the beans.

Edward was out in the adjacent fields playing polo with Jasper and Emmett, a pastime for them that keeps them fit and occupied so no one complains, and Bella was with Alice in the conservatory overlooking the gardens on their estate.

The conservatory is an entire separate building and it could be a house all on it's own. It is one of the most spectacular conservatories in England and the Cullen's do a good job of looking after it's upkeep. After all it is centuries old and was practically crumbling before they restored it.

Bella and Alice were situated at the back, looking out over the guys playing. I wanted to talk to Bella, only Bella, but I needed to get rid of Alice first. I seized the moment when Jasper fell from his horse. Alice made my part rather easy though as she practically sprang out of the room to check if my brother was okay.

_Bella's POV_

"Have you told him yet?"Rose asked the second Alice was outside. I knew what she

was talking about but I thought she would at least start with the pleasantries first before diving headfirst in.

"Told who what?" Maybe if I played innocent she would forget about all of this.

"For God's sake Bella. Have you told Edward about James. You know bloody well what I'm talking about. Just this one time I'm asking you to take your head out of the sand and tell Edward. If you don't I will!" She seemed particularly pissed now.

"Look Rose I don't know what has gone on and I know that you're just looking out for me but please, let me handle it." She shook her head furiously.

"I gave you your chance to handle it and you have done nothing. I swear if you don't tell Edward I will."

"Why does he need to know? What will he do that is any different from what I can do?" I asked, not understanding Edward'snecessary involvement in this.

"He won't ignore it like you are doing. Sorry to break it to you Bella but James won't go away if you ignore him. He'll keep coming back and back until he has you right where he wants you. James is probably the only guy I know who would make good on his threats. If he says he'll do it then he will. At the moment he's convinced he's going to sleep with you, whether that be willingly or not."

"He wouldn't do that." I don't know who I was trying to convince more, her or me.

"Yes he would and he has. I would know." That's all I needed to hear.

All the clues she had been dropping about what went on with her and James fell into place. He threatened to sleep with Rose and he did even though Rose didn't want to. I felt a chill run up my spine at the prospect of that happening with me, James trying to ra- no I couldn't even think it. It's not possible.

"Now do you understand?" Rose asked, finally seeing me comprehend the situation fully. I nodded and looked down to the floor. This was so bad. "Do you want to tell him or should I?" She questioned kindly. Clearly having seen the colour drain from my cheeks.

"Could you?" I croaked. It wasn't sinking it. Rose nodded then shocked me more by giving me a hug. I never thought she would ever do that, especially to me, so I was very surprised when her arms wrapped round me and pulled me close. Allowing me to feel slightly comforted by the fact that I wouldn't have to deal with this by myself. After all she had been where I was today except she didn't have people looking out for her.

"Thanks." I mumbled pulling back feeling shaken from all this information.

"It's okay. We're here for you, all of us. Why don't you go lie down and by the time you wake up Edward will be clued in." I nodded meekly then turned back to her before leaving.

"Make sure Edward doesn't over react to this when he finds out. I don't want him getting hurt."

"I'll make sure he doesn't." I headed back to the house to sleep. I just needed to be by myself and think this through. I couldn't believe someone would do that, let alone do that to me. It's just all too much.

_Edward's POV_

"Where's Bella gone?" I asked as Emmett and I carried Jasper in to the conservatory. When he fell off his horse he landed badly on his ankle and we think it's sprained but he can't walk on it so we have to help him.

"She needed to lie down." Rose said dismissively.

"Is she okay?" I asked concerned. I hoped she wasn't sick; I wanted to take her riding later. Maybe I'd have to reschedule.

"Yeah she just wanted to rest. Can I talk to you a second?" I nodded and Rose and I walked away from the other three, but not without noticing Emmett send Rose a knowing glance. Something was going on and they weren't telling me.

"What is it?" I asked sharply. I hated being kept out of the loop.

"Remember James?"

"How could I forget?" I practically growled back. I don't know who hated him more out of Emmett, Jasper or me after what he did to Rose. It was despicable, the lowest of lows and we all felt like killing him. Me since Rose is like my second sister, Jasper because Rose is his sister and Emmett because he was madly in love with her.

"Well some one has caught his eye." The last girl to catch his eye ended up with the scars, physically and mentally, to remember what he did for the rest of her life.

"Who?" Whoever it was is in serious danger.

"Bella." I looked at Rose like she had just come in my house on Christmas day and peed on my carpet. She had to be wrong or I had to have misheard.

"What did you say?" The very thought of James doing _that _to Bella makes my blood boil.

"James thinks Bella would be a perfect next target." I would kill him.

"How do you know?" I better make sure this is accurate before breaking his neck.

"For starters he bragged about what he wanted to do to her and then Bella filled me in." I was seething at this point.

"When?" I growled.

"Nineteen days ago." I shot her a you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me-look.

"No."

"Yes Edward. Nineteen days ago he propositioned her for sex and we know that even if Bella resists he'll still get her."

"No!" I was growling and felt like my insides were going to explode with rage. In some sense I felt like the hulk.

"No matter how much you dislike the idea of this it's true. Now get your bloody act together so we don't get a repeat of what happened to me." That sobered me up a bit; I was no longer seeing red.

"I need to see her, make sure she's alright." I said before storming out of the conservatory. She must have gone to lie down because Rose explained the James situation.

"She's asleep Edward." Rose called as the door slammed shut behind me.

Rose was right though, she was asleep. He eyes were red and she had tear stained cheeks from crying but she was sleeping peacefully in her room. I shut her door quietly and crossed the floor, trying to avoid the squeaky floorboards. Settling down on the side of her bed I brushed away her tears and removed some of her hair from her face. She was beautiful and I couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt her.

My movements woke her up with a start and she seemed terrified with an unknown presence sitting next to her on her bed. The terror in her eyes scared me, especially when it was directed into my eyes. I would never cause her that harm and she needed to know that.

"It's just me, Edward. I came to see if you're alright." I told her coaxingly.

"I'm fine." She mumbled. "Just a little worried."

"I promise you'll be fine. I will protect you with my life."

"I don't want you getting hurt." She said softly.

"That won't happen." At least I hoped it wouldn't.

"Why wasn't James arrested for ra…rap…doing what he did to Rose?" It broke my heart to know that she couldn't say those words out of fear.

"Things were handled differently then. It wasn't obvious what happened to Rose until much later on and by that time it would have been his word against hers. Also her parents didn't want the idea of their blissful daughter being dragged through the mud in court on rape charges." She flinched like I had slapped her when I said rape. It was too soon to use that word around her.

Even though he hadn't hurt her the fact that he wanted to and could if he tired really hard was frightening enough. Hell even I was frightened for her. Who knows what I would do if she got hurt.

"Can you lie with me? I feel safe with you." She admitted. I nodded and moved round the bed. She crawled into my arms and put her head on my chest. I could feel the fresh tears soaking into my shirt but just held her tighter. I was there for her and was always going to be, whether she liked it or not. I needed to protect her, even when she didn't think she needed protection.


	24. Chapter 24: Fiancée

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Fiancée **

**May 1st**

**2 Months & 6 Days Left**

_Edward's POV_

At breakfast my father pulled me aside and informed me that I would be meeting my possible fiancée. Without even noticing the first thing I did was look over at Bella. This would put strain on our secret relationship. I don't want to hurt Bella but I feel that isn't possible anymore. At the beginning of July she will get hurt when we have to end this.

I was dressed to look smart and welcome them in the main hall at eleven. Alice was to take Bella shopping and then to the movies whilst I was spending time with my possible fiancée. She, whoever she is, will only be confirmed as my fiancée if our fathers feel that there is a good connection between us.

Before Bella left I wanted to see her. She would be able to calm my nerves about what I was about to do. She had just finished getting dressed and was fixing her hair in the mirror. I smiled softly before wrapping her in my arms and kissing her neck, I found that weak spot a few days ago and it makes her putty in my hands.

"Hi." She murmured, leaning against me.

"Hi. How are you?" I asked, kissing her a little more.

"I'm much better now."

"Good." Bella stood up, as though to walk away from me but I wasn't having any of that. I moved with her and caught her in my arms at the bed.

"Edward." She warned but as I was giving her my crooked smile she didn't put up much of a fight when I kissed her properly.

Slowly I brushed my lips against hers, asking for entrance to her mouth. She gave it up almost immediately and just encouraged me. The passion and lust took over me and my hands were pulling her hips closer to my own and making sure my lips didn't leave hers.

Somehow we ended up on the bed but I certainly wasn't complaining and neither was she. Her hands were everywhere and I was throwing rationality out the window and letting my senses take over. Bella seemed to be doing the same thing and was throwing caution to the wind when she slowly started undoing the buttons on my shirt.

Our bodies were moving against each other's of their own accords. I was going on sensation alone and could only comprehend how amazing Bella felt beneath me. The only noise in the room was our 

heavy breathing and the drum of my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I wouldn't be surprised if she could hear it.

"Bella I just wanted to- oh my god my eyes!" My sister's voice shrieked from the door. I practically flew off Bella and out the door to hide my obvious arousal from both Bella and Alice.

That was too close. If that had been Esme or Carlisle things could have hanged drastically. I think Esme would understand but with my father I don't know. He wants the rest from me and I don't want to disappoint him.

Next time I'm locking the door.

_Bella's POV_

Edward raced out of here like a bat out of hell and Alice slowly took her hand away from her eyes. She shut the door behind Edward and gave me her I-can't-believe-you look before she started.

"What the bloody hell was that?" She didn't sound annoyed, more grossed out by what she had witnessed.

"Nothing." I said, trying to regain my breathing back to normal.

"Nothing!" Alice cried. "He was practically dry humping you!"

"Okay it wasn't that bad."

"Yes it was! Please never do that again without locking the door first. Who knows next time I might see something ten times worse." Alice sighed then calmed herself down. "Okay, so are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." Today was going to be a very long day.

"Oh don't forget to remind me to stop off at the pharmacy on the way home." She said as we walked down the stairs to her car.

"Alright, anything I should be worried about?" Maybe she was sick or something.

"No, no. I just need to get a few things that's all." I did not like the glint in her eye when she said that.

_Edward's POV_

The girls had left and my future fiancée would be arriving any second. I don't know what to make of this situation anymore. I'm so confused. On one hand marrying this girl would be the best thing for everyone, well except Bella, since I would do what I was meant to do since birth. But then on the other hand I don't love her and probably never will.

I wanted the chance to find someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and not someone I'm with for convenience. For once I just want to have a normal life, be able to make my own choices and not be expected to carry on as my father's successor.

The sound of a car pulling up outside broke me from my thoughts. She had finally arrived. On the other side of that door could be the woman I'm to spend the rest of my life with and is the mother of my children.

Oh joy, someone just kill me now.

"Shall we?" My father asked rather cheerfully as he opened the door. I changed my entire demeanour in seconds so I was now smiling politely ready to welcome them rather than looking like this was my personal hell.

"Hi. Welcome. We're so glad you could make it." Carlisle greeted as two guests entered the hall. After the usual pleasantries Tanya, my wife to be, and I went out to the veranda for drinks. It was our fathers' idea for us to bond together.

We both sat down opposite each other with drinks in hand, neither of us saying anything. It was awkward to say the least. She was gazing out over the gardens and I was watching the condensation run down the glass.

"You have a beautiful home." Tanya commented after a few minutes. "And lovely gardens to match. I hear they are among the top in the country." We were now making small talk.

"I've heard so but they aren't that special. There are advantages and disadvantages to it." Maybe if I was dull she wouldn't want to marry me.

"You don't want to be here do you?" Her question caught me off guard. I took a few seconds to consider my answer but decided honesty was most appropriate.

"No I don't want to be here." I was looking at the glass again, not wanting to meet her gaze. She was pretty, I would grant you that, but she just wasn't what I wanted in a girl.

"Where would you rather be? Or more to the point who would you rather have here with you than me?" Perceptive, I didn't think she would be.

"There is someone. She's out at the moment, doesn't know I'm here with my possible fiancée."

"You didn't tell her?" Her voice was full of curiosity and I could detect no malice.

"No. I didn't think it would be appropriate." I shrugged as though to express that I was still unsure about my decision to keep this from Bella.

"What is your relationship status with this girl?" I looked up into her eyes and tried to decipher her intent. Now either she could use this to her advantage or just wanted to know her competition.

"We are dating but only a select few know." She nodded and looked out over the grass again, taking a small sip of her drink. "Do you have your eye on any other respective husbands?"

"There are a few." She smiled softly.

"Anyone in particular?"

"There's a lovely Earl who I have my eye on, he lives in Scotland but other than that I would say we were a perfect match. He's top of my list. But you…you're top of my father's list." I nodded. Of course her father would put me at the top; I am after all going to inherit an obscene amount of money.

"I don't doubt you would be a good husband or father Edward I just think you seem rather cold. You aren't the man I see myself marrying. In all honesty I don't want to get married but I couldn't give this life up. Would you?" She stumped me there.

"I could….for the right girl. She would have to be exceedingly special though." I shook my head, brushing the thoughts plaguing my mind.

"So this girl of yours, what's she like?" Tanya asked, leaning forward on her elbows.

"She's….amazing and that doesn't even cover it. She doesn't realise how beautiful she is and she's so innocent is charming. I try to get her to blush a lot; she looks even more breathtaking when she blushes. I feel so much more comfortable around her and she makes me…what's the word…happy when I'm with her." I sighed and shook my head again, this was ridiculous. "It's a good thing you don't want to marry me since it appears I have no balls so we would never be able to have children."

"I doubt that." She said laughing but after admitting how I felt about Bella to a complete stranger I couldn't help but think I was completely whipped. "So you like her, could you marry her?"

"Absolutely not. I don't think she would have me but marriage is not in the cards for her at this age." No Bella wouldn't want her life strapped down at eighteen.

"But you like her?"

"Most definitely. I would do anything for her. All I want to do is be there for her and protect her. I want to be the one she goes to with a problem and I want to be the one to comfort her in a time of need. I want…well…her." I admitted, feeling stupid for saying all this to Tanya.

"From the sounds of it I'd say you were in love." She smiled coyly.

"Love? No, not possible. I don't know what love is. This is just lust and liking, not love." I was sure she was wrong. I couldn't love Bella; we had only been together for a couple of months at most.

"Don't deny it. It's romantic. So you love her, does she know?"

"Of course not. She knows I like her a lot but if I can't even allow myself to think that I love her then I most certainly am not telling her I love her." Tanya brushed some hair away from her eyes as I took a drink. Letting my feelings for Bella settle.

I'm too young to be in love. This has to be lust. She is the only girl I've ever wanted to be intimate with and with all these teenage hormones kicking around my judgement is biased. It's lust. Only lust.

"Well I think you should tell her. What do you have to lose?"

"I could lose her for a start. This could totally freak her out, if it was true, and she may never want to see me again. I couldn't risk that. We have about two months left then things return to normal, I won't be making any extravagant romantic gestures in that time."

"Well if you change your mind give me a call, I'd love to help with something like this."I eyed her pensively.

"Why would you be interested in my love life? After all if something was to happen between me and this girl that means we could never be together."

"Like I said you're a great guy, you're just not my guy. I want the Scottish Earl not the English Marquess. You would be the perfect husband, that's for sure, but I don't want perfect. You're a gorgeous guy Edward, I won't deny that, but there is a part to your personality that I find expressionless. As though you have no emotions behind those beautiful onyx eyes of yours. I certainly don't bring out the good side in you, maybe she does though."

"Maybe." I pondered. I had no idea of the effects Bella had on me.

_Bella's POV_

"Okay we're done. Time to go home." Alice declared after buying about sixty pairs of shoes that she insisted she needed and without them her world would come crumbling down.

She told me we would be going shopping then go to the movies but instead we went to the movies first so she didn't have to lug all her bags around. I didn't see the problem but now with her multiply overflowing bags I could understand.

"We have to go to the pharmacy. You said you wanted to pick a few things up." I reminded her before getting in the car.

"Oh yeah." She automatically chirped up and seemed far too excited to just be going to the pharmacy.

When we arrived Alice was out the car in seconds, racing into the store. I followed behind weary of what she was getting. The mischievous glint was back in her eye and I knew she was not to be trusted. She was down one aisle, throwing things off the shelves into a basket then prancing off up the next one.

Her graceful movements put me to shame when I finally caught up to her at the checkout. All her items were paid and bagged so I still had no idea what she had purchased.

"Is there a reason you were secretive about what you just bought?" I asked her as she placed the bag on the floor in the front of the car next to my legs.

"I bought the stuff for you and I didn't want you causing a scene in the store." She was smirking as I was panicking.

I lifted the bag onto my lap and opened it up carefully. All the blood immediately rushed to my cheeks at the sight of condoms, lubricating gel and two pregnancy tests. This was some really bad joke or she was being deadly serious and thought I would need these.

"The pregnancy tests are just in case…you know. They are the best money can buy in the store so they're accurate enough if there is any mishaps. The other stuff is for your fun and Edward's of course." She was giggling, finding this hilarious whereas I wanted to jump out the moving vehicle.

I intended to stash the bag somewhere in my room until I could properly dispose of it but unfortunately luck was not on my side. Edward came out to help us with the bags and gave me a chaste kiss. Somehow he ended up carrying the bag filled with contraceptives. I was just hoping he wouldn't look inside it.

"That bag is for Bella's room." Alice directed, pointing to the one he was holding as he was about to put it with Alice's bags.

"Can I see what you bought?" He asked, rather seductively if I do say so myself. I shook my head but he had already opened the bag.

My heart stopped all the blood ran to my cheeks, my mind was gone and I felt like the world had just fallen out of the universe. Edward opened his mouth to say something but stumbled to grip any words and then he blushed a little. I was dying of humiliation. He must think I'm some sort of nymphomaniac now.

"These for us?" He questioned wearily.

"Apparently." I croaked.

"Well let's put them to good use." He grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs as Alice laughed hysterically at the bottom of the stairs.

Once inside his bedroom Edward threw the bag to the other side of the room and kissed me softly as he wrapped me in his arms.

"I missed you." He confessed. The light topaz of his eyes was getting brighter and it was amazing to watch.

"I missed you too." He kissed me again then opened his mouth to say something but the words never came.

"My sister bought the contents in that bag, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

"Interfering Pixie." He muttered under his breath. "I want you to know I'm not expecting that from you."

"I know." I did know, the only time our lust and passion took over was this morning.

"I…I...l…I like you Bella." He said quietly, as though he was saddened whilst he said it.

"I like you too Edward." He smiled and kissed me again.

"Come on I want to take you riding."

I don't know what it was about him that was different but there was certainly something. He seemed changed and was acting a little weird. But either way he was still the perfect gentleman I knew him to be.

We agreed emotions wouldn't get involved in this relationship but I can't help think I'm falling harder for him every day.


	25. Chapter 25: Revenge

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Revenge**

**May 5th**

**2 Months & 2 Days Left**

_Edward's POV_

Today is a day of revenge. I finally had the perfect opportunity to get Bella back for beating me at poker. Tonight my parents are hosting a dinner party that is when I will extract the perfect revenge. All I have to do now is wait until then. A few days ago I gave Bella an introduction to riding but today I managed to convince her to come riding on a trail with me.

Alice equipped her with the perfect riding jodhpurs to save her from hurting her legs from the saddle. She could wear whatever she wanted on top since it was relatively warm out and the weather was nice.

We met out by the stables as I had the horses ready to go. Bella warned me that no matter what happened she was bound to fall and hurt herself so I was gave her the safest and calmest horse we had.

"We ready to go?" She asked, petting the bay horse with white markings down its face.

"Almost. First I need you to put this on." I held out the protective vest.

"Edward I don't think I'll get shot going on this trail. There is no need to wear a bullet proof vest." She protested.

"It's not a bullet proof vest. It's a body protector. Basically if you fall you won't break your back. You said you would fall so I'm going to make you wear this. You can do it the easy way, put it on voluntarily, or the hard way, I'll force it on you."

"Give me the damn thing." She sighed and pulled it from my hands to put it on.

Once we were all geared up and on the horses we moved out of the paddock and out onto the trail. I just wanted to spend quality time with Bella while I could. Every day that passes is another day closer to when she leaves.

My heart clenches at that very thought. Of not seeing her everyday and spending time with her. Though I would act nonchalant about the situation I'm definitely going to miss her. Three hours isn't on the other side of the world but it'll feel that way.

Glancing over at Bella she was holding the reins but looking very nervous on the horse, like she was waiting for it to bolt any second. The horse was just moseying along completely oblivious to its inexperienced, terrified rider.

"What are you staring at?" She asked smirking, catching me in the act.

"You." I answered honestly.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Calmly she brushed her hair and cheeks thinking there was something on her.

"No, you're perfect." I wanted to kiss her but thought leaning over the gap in-between our horses was too much of a challenge for us to try at this moment.

"So where are we going? Or are the horses just leading us wherever?" The last question brought a frown to her face.

"We're heading out of the main gardens and over to the adjacent fields. We can let the horses loose out there and give them a chance to properly stretch their legs. Perhaps if they are up for it we could get them galloping, but only if you want to." I said nervously. Normally I would be so confident with what I was doing and where we were going but with Bella I wanted everything to be perfect and would hate to disappoint her.

"No that sounds fine, going there; I might pass on the galloping though. That's just finding a reason for me to fall off the horse." She was smirking but I could tell she was being dead serious.

For the next ten minutes we rode in silence, comfortable silence. I spent my time admiring the view of the rider next to me and she spent the time looking out at the vast landscape. From where we were we could see the river running through the estate and it was almost a picture perfect moment.

Deciding this was the best time as any I worked out how to explain to Bella about meeting Tanya. Since that day our father's have gone ahead and are going to be announcing our engagement in one week today, on the 12th of May.

Things are moving a lot faster than either Tanya or I anticipated and she was very disappointed when she found out that I would be her husband. Unfortunately it is required of me to propose to her in the next few days so that the engagement party can go ahead on schedule. I'm trying to buy some time, so is she, but neither of us has been successful yet.

Tanya is practically begging her father to reconsider me and look more at the Earl. He doesn't seem to be having any of it and if anything it's just pushing him closer to me than ever. This marriage will just be one train wreck after another.

I would do everything in my power to be the best husband and father even if I did not love my wife, after all she would not love me. A few years ago when I knew that I would have to marry someone, whenever I thought of myself with a family my wife's face was blurry. But now, that face is very clear and it's the face of the girl sitting on the horse four feet from me who my heart yearns for.

"Bella?" I said apprehensively.

"Yeah?" She turned and gave me a soft smile, making it even harder for me to tell her this.

"Em…when…remember that morning we got rather carried away?" She blushed ever so slightly and nodded. "Well just after you left with Alice I met a girl who is almost 100 percent confirmed as being my fiancée. I said to you that I would tell you when I was to meet her and at the time I didn't because I didn't want to. I wanted to keep that part separate from us. With everything that was going on with James around that time I thought it would be better to tell you at another time."

"It's okay Edward. You didn't have to tell me. I'm not your keeper." I wish you were, my brain thought recklessly. We fell into uncomfortable silence then.

"Was…was she nice?" Bella asked after a few minutes.

"She was lovely, very friendly and helpful. She made me realise something that I hadn't thought about. She made me consider taking a chance, risking everything and knowing that it would be 

worth it." I said as my thoughts trailed off. After I told Bella about Tanya I felt like a complete idiot. I'm meant to be her boyfriend and I'm talking about another girl, my fiancée to be exact.

"I didn't mean it like that-" I started.

"It's fine Edward. You'll be marrying her anyway so it's good that you two got on well." I wanted some sign that she was upset about me marrying another girl but I got nothing. She didn't seem effected at all and that hurt a little. Maybe she only thinks of us as a fling and not a serious relationship which is what I want us to be.

I shook my head of these heavy thoughts. We had reached the fields and it was time to let go of our structured selves and let loose. I always found that with riding fast it makes me feel free and the sensation of the wind whipping past my face is one I have not been able to replica anywhere else.

For the rest of the afternoon Bella and I had a somewhat awkward good time. Both of us knew what the implications of me getting married would be on our relationship and instead of making the most of it we distanced ourselves from each other slightly.

I managed to get her to gallop on the horse but she seemed terrified. Unfortunately she did fall off but there was no damage as she was wearing the body protector. I could tell she was thankful that I made her put it on but she seemed irritated by my smug smirk that I was right about her wearing it. The small smile on her lips told me that she wasn't completely pissed at me though.

We headed back and Alice stole Bella away from me to get ready for the dinner party tonight. Whilst Bella was in the shower I explained to Alice about what happened when we were out and the conversation about Tanya. She said that she would help me get back in Bella's good books.

At seven thirty the girls came downstairs looking as beautiful as ever. Alice had gotten Bella into a casual black dress which just highlighted how amazing she was. It was worth the hours they spent cooped up in Alice's room when they come out looking like that. Jasper and I only took ten minutes to get ready and we certainly didn't look that good.

The dinner was rich food topped with extravagant sauces and lots of strong wine and alcohol on the side. The only way to keep eating was to keep drinking and by the end of the meal we were all rather tipsy, some more so than others.

Bella and I had a great time and all the awkwardness from earlier had vanished. The guests at the party were very friendly and that helped relax Bella. They weren't the overly stuffy people of the upper class so were able to have a good time. The alcohol also helped us have a good time and allowed us just to relax. I wasn't drunk so could control my inhibitions but I wasn't so sure about Bella. She seemed a lot more comfortable around me and it was like nothing had happened.

Perfect.

"Have you ever played pool?" I asked Bella as we stumbled through the halls looking for something to do. I knew what room we needed to be in but it could be a challenge getting her there.

"No, can you teach me?" She was clinging to my shirt and smiling beautifully at me.

"Of course." I led her into the billiards room where I would extract my revenge. "We'll be playing pool on the billiards table since pool is an easier game to play; well at least I think so."

I gathered the pool cues and balls then set up the table to play. She had some understanding so it didn't take long before we were playing. I let Bella break and spent the next few minutes watching how she positioned herself to take her shot. If I was going to do this properly I had to be standing in the perfect place.

She became striped and I was the solid-colour balls but play momentarily stopped when I moved to her right side as she leant over the table to pocket the striped blue ten ball. I had left my cue against the stand so it wouldn't get in the way and gently ran my hands over her exposed shoulders.

Bella frowned and looked up from her shot, inquiring what I was doing. If only she knew.

_Bella's POV_

I was about to pocket another ball when I felt Edward's cool hands graze over my shoulders. I looked at him to see what was going on but he just had an innocent smile on his face. Ever so slowly he began to massage my shoulders softly then leant down and kissed just next to the strap for the dress.

My mind became fuzzy and all thoughts were suddenly lost. I groaned involuntarily at the touch of his lips. His lips curled into a smile as he continued to kiss his way across my shoulder to my neck.

"Edward." I warned but it sounded more like a moan.

"Just relax, you're so tense." He whispered as his hands grazed up from my fingers to my neck leaving goose bumps in their wake. Ever so slowly he started to massage my back and shoulders causing my moans to increase.

Somehow I ended up sitting on the billiards table with Edward's hands roaming my back. He seemed to know exactly where to massage to get the best reaction from me.

"Edward." I moaned, completely giving over to him. He moved his hands away and I groaned before reaching round and pulling them back. "No don't stop."

He was smiling smugly at me as he kissed my shoulders and continued to massage my back. I was in too much pleasure to care about his cocky attitude. All I could care about was the sensations his hands were creating.

_Alice's POV_

Bella and Edward wandered off after dinner and the rest of us, including the guests, stayed at the table eating and drinking. We were heavy in conversation and working our way through our twelfth bottle of wine when we could hear moans through the walls.

Everyone paused mid sentence and I could see the bewildered looks crossing each person's face. Carlisle cocked his head to the side and looked at Esme with a bemused smile. I could see the clogs in his had turning. It wasn't until Bella moaned Edward's name that everything clicked into place.

I had no idea what they were up to but it certainly sounded like Bella was enjoying herself.

"No don't stop." She moaned.

With that my mother was up and trying to distract the guests into joining her in another room where they wouldn't be able to hear my brother pleasure Bella in whatever the hell he was doing. I know he's too much of a prude to be doing what I think he's doing so who knows what's going on.

_Bella's POV_

Edward had just finished giving me a massage and we had completely abandoned our game of pull. Instead we were just going to head upstairs and mess about up there. It wasn't until I opened the door whilst brushing down my dress did I realise that my moans must have been loud. I was met with about twelve knowing glances from all the guests and Edward's family. I have a rough idea of what they thought we were doing but that certainly didn't happen, Edward's hands stayed strictly above my waist.

My natural instinct was to blush at the thought of them hearing me moaning and calling Edward's name. Unfortunately that just made us look guiltier, Edward's cocky smirk wasn't helping either. Very quickly I dashed out from under their scrutinising eyes and buried my face in my hands once I was out of sight. Edward was killing himself laughing and was trying to compose himself.

"It's not funny; they must have thought we were doing something completely inappropriate." I scolded him.

"It wasn't that bad. What would you have rather of done, that or stripping in front of them?" I could now see where he was going with this.

"Oh my god you set that up?!" I accused. His smirk gave him away.

"I did tell you I would get you back for making beating me at poker." As if that made it okay.

"You are so dead." I warned him as he began to walk backwards towards the stairs. I wasn't completely pissed at him since it could have been worse but I was slightly riled that I was moaning n front of strangers.

"Now Bella let's think rationally about this." Edward said, holding his hands up in a mock surrender. I just shook my head and continue to advance on him. Quickly he turned round and dashed up the stairs, me following in pursuit.

I was so surprised that I didn't fall as I chased him, maybe the alcohol fixes my balancing issues, and then I was utterly shocked when I heard a thump followed by a yelp then saw Edward in a heap on the floor. He rolled over onto his back which gave me the time to sit on his waist straddling him.

"Huh I thought I would have been the one to fall." I told him coyly.

"Well I didn't want you to hurt yourself… so… I fell for you." I bit my lip at the four words at the end of his sentence. I know he didn't mean it that way but my heart still skipped a beat when he said it.

I leant over him and subconsciously licked my lips. His eyes darted there when I did so and he did the same just making him more tempting beneath me. Very quickly Edward's hands were at my neck and pulling my lips closer to his. I definitely wasn't putting up a fight and kissed him quickly, just letting my body's desires take over.

Edward was obviously doing the same as his hands were roaming my body and I could hear him groaning involuntarily below me. After all the teasing downstairs we were finally just letting instincts control our motions.

As we were there on the floor wrapped among each other, repeating many of the noises I had voiced earlier, Alice came up the stairs and walked straight past us into her bedroom. A few seconds later she opened the door and threw something at us. It hit Edward in the head causing him to frown. I pulled away from his lips and picked up the box only to hear Alice yell at us.

"I bought you condoms so use them!" She shut the door as Edward took the box from my hands and rolled his eyes. I brushed his hair out from his face and kissed him softly before untangling myself and standing up. We both stood there rather awkwardly, not knowing quite what to say.

Edward made the next move and pulled me into his bedroom, locking the door behind him. I gave him a questioning look but he just said he didn't want to be disturbed. My mind was going crazy with possibilities of us in a locked bedroom with condoms and then he started to undress. I was completely floored and sat down on the bed before I fell to the ground.

He removed his shirt leaving his perfect chiselled chest exposed and started removing his pants. I must have looked like a complete idiot sitting there gaping at my irresistible boyfriend.

"Are you not going to undress?" He asked softly and seductively. I had no coherent thoughts and just sat there motionless. "I think it would be very uncomfortable to sleep in that dress." He added.

"Sleep?" I croaked. Were we just sleeping or was something else going to take place that would make us want to sleep.

"Yeah, just sleep. I haven't gone a night without wanting you in my bed. After that time we slept in the same bed at your house I've always felt like there was something missing from my bed and that something turned out to be you." He looked shy when he said it and that just made him look even cuter. "There is something you can wear in the bathroom."

Slowly and unsurely I walked into the bathroom and noticed a pair of loose shorts and a shirt on the counter. I smiled at his thoughtfulness and quickly changed. When I made my way back into the bedroom Edward was lying in the bed. He beckoned me over and lifted the covers up for me to slide in.

"Sleep here every night?" He whispered against my skin as he pulled me into his arms so I was lying against his bare chest.

"Only if you want me to." I kissed the skin my cheek was going to be laying against and looked up into his beautiful golden topaz eyes.

"I do."

"Then I will." He kissed my lips softly. For some reason I just felt so close to him and even though we had calmed down our teenage hormones this act of us lying together in bed seemed intimate enough. "What will your parents say?" I asked nervously after a few seconds.

"Nothing as they will never know." He kissed me again and tightened his grip on my body. "Goodnight Bella."

"Goodnight Edward."

Shortly after I fell asleep. I was panicking about the upcoming weeks but realised I would be fine as long as I had Edward around to support me. He was like my rock, someone I could lean on. As much as I hate to admit it, since it's a complication neither of us need, I am wholeheartedly in love with him.

If only he knew or felt the same way.


	26. Chapter 26: Rollercoaster Two Days

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twenty Six: Rollercoaster Two Days**

**May 6th**

**2 Months & 1 Day Left**

_Edward's POV_

Carlisle pulled me into the office and I guessed he wanted to talk to me about last night. The stunt I pulled on Bella was completely innocent but I guess it didn't sound that way. From any one's opinion standing outside that door it would seem Bella and I were reaching new levels of our relationship.

"Edward, have a seat." He said kindly, leaning back in his chair. "Something has come to your mother and I's attention and we were wondering if it was true."

This had to be about me and Bella. There were certainly enough 'rumours' going around that we were a couple. It most have been brought up and dismissed but after last night they might have seen the truth behind the accusations.

"How do you and Bella get on?" That was the coy question for asking are you friends or do you date.

"We get on rather well." No need to give him more than he's asking for.

"And you and Tanya?" He inquired.

"Well, she's a very friendly girl."

"Last night…the moans coming from the billiard room…" He left it there, hoping I would know what he was indicating to.

"Nothing happened. We played pool and I gave her a massage. The wine had got to her and she was very responsive."

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"Because if there was something going on that wouldn't be a problem Edward. I've seen a change in you recently, a good change. We all see it when we look at you; I think that girl brings out the best in you. So if you two were dating that would be okay with your mother and me. All that we would ask is you sort out the situation with Tanya or any other possible fiancées. Anything you want to add?"

"Would I have to marry Tanya or anyone else like her?" My father smirked and saw straight through my question.

"You mean do you have to marry someone with wealth and a title or is it alright if you wanted to marry Bella. Correct?" I nodded once and waited for him to continue.

"No, Edward. You do not have to marry Tanya. You could marry someone without high wealth or a title. It doesn't matter particularly to me or your mother. We just want you to be happy. Edward I would never have pushed for this if I knew you didn't want it."

"That's the thing I did want it. I did want to find a wife at this age and be set for life. That was until I met Bella."

"You like her?"

"Very much." Carlisle smiled.

"So what do you want to do?" He pulled an engagement ring out from his desk and slid it over to me. "You can either give that to Tanya or wait and give it to Bella."

"Bella won't marry me." I stated as I put the ring box in my pocket.

"Nonsense. She might not marry you right now but you do have years ahead of you. Just think it over Edward."

"Thanks." I rose and left his office, shutting the door quietly behind me.

_Bella's POV_

Alice had spent the whole afternoon making me up for a stupid party tonight. It is ridiculous how many of these things they have to go to. Since Alice had me under lock and key I had barely seen Edward today. I saw him when I woke up and then again very briefly at breakfast.

I was told I wouldn't see him again until we arrived but I was then pleasantly surprised when Edward snuck into my room. He gave me a crooked grin and pulled me into his embrace.

"Hi." He mumbled against my hair.

"Hi. Where have you been all day?"

"Around, Carlisle wanted to speak to me. You look fabulous by the way."

"Thanks." I blushed as his eyes roamed over me. "So what did Carlisle want?"

"He was curious about that stunt I pulled last night."

"Oh god your parents heard that?" I hid my head in his chest.

"Yeah. My parents now know that there is something going on between us."

"Are they annoyed?" I asked worryingly.

"Nope, not at all." I was completely relieved. At least they didn't go crazy that we were dating. Charlie would go through the roof.

"I need to tell you something." He said seriously which worried me a little.

"Okay, you're scaring me. What is it?" After his parents being okay with us I didn't see what else there was to be worried about so with his serious tone I was a little stressed.

"I want to tell you that I'm-"

"EDWARD OUT! You're not meant to see Bella until later." Alice screeched, completely cutting Edward off as she barged into the room

"No I need to talk to Bell-"

"Nope! Get out." She grabbed Edward by the shoulders and pushed him out of the room.

"Alice! I needed to know what he was going to say." I protested as she pushed me into a chair.

"He'll tell you later. We have more important things to discuss." She sat down on the bed, practically bouncing off it.

"Like?" I prompted.

"Well it's about you and Edward. I know you guys like each other but I was curious about just how much you like him." I bit my lip nervously. Although I trust Alice I don't want her to know that I am in love with her brother if he doesn't feel the same way, which he doesn't.

"Bella, you can be honest with me. We're friends and whatever you say will stay between us."

"I like him…a lot." I sighed. "I love him and I know that it's foolish since this will never work and he doesn't feel the same way-"

"Stop right there." She held her hand up to halt me. "Don't say it can't work because it could. I know these things so trust me."

"You can't know that." I said sadly.

"Bella I knew that Edward would meet someone amazing by going on the exchange, I knew you two would go out eventually and I knew that you were in love with him. Don't doubt me. Also I was wondering about your physical relationship." I blushed bright red.

"Alice do we really need to talk about that, he is your brother."

"Exactly. If you wanted to take it further you're going to have a hard time, Edward's a prude. So if you need any help don't hesitate to ask as me and Rose will be honoured to assist." She winked and then pranced out the room.

A short while later we all left looking rather good if I say so myself. In the car Alice briefed me that many students from our school will be there. She also assured me the James would be there but that all of them would make sure he stayed away from me.

Edward escorted me in to the grand hall which just blew me away; I don't think I would ever get use to attending these things. Glancing around I noticed a lot of familiar faces from school, many of whom didn't like me. Oh this is going to be one eventful evening.

I would later realise how true that statement was.

_Edward's POV_

I was going to tell Bella I was in love with her before my all seeing sister barged in. I'm at the point where I just want to tell have and make the most of the time we have together. Obviously I don't expect her to say it back and I don't think we will be jumping into marriage anytime soon.

After entering with Bella on my arm I had a look round the room. Most of the student body was here with their parents. Among those students was James who was standing by the bar with his lackeys. I also noticed Tanya sitting with her father and sisters.

I led Bella to our table and sat down with her. Alice, Jasper, Rose and Emmett quickly joined us as our parents went round the room greeting everybody. We were quickly served drinks and light conversation initiated. I saw Tanya by herself at the table so decided now was a good enough time as any to talk to her.

After excusing myself from the table I made my way over to her and sat down. She smiled softly at me before we did the pleasantry greetings.

"Nice to see you here." She said kindly.

"You too, I didn't know you were coming."

"Either did I until tonight." She took a sip of her water as I spoke.

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing, why?"

"I have something important to talk to you about and was wondering if you would come over some time during the morning. If that's okay with you?" I asked nervously. I was sure I was making the right decision but I my mind still had doubts.

"Of course, that would be lovely." We spoke for a few moments after, she updated me on the situation with the Earl, and everything was going fine although he did seem a little discouraged when he heard a Marquess was interested. If only he knew how little I was interested in Tanya.

I walked back over to our table and invited Bella to dance; luckily we weren't expected to waltz so I could simple sway if she wasn't prepared enough to try that. She had one hand on my shoulder and the other in mine as my other hand rested on her hip.

"You look amazing." I whispered, being captured in her beauty. The compliment only made her more beautiful as she blushed that beautiful crimson colour.

"Thanks." She bit her lip nervously and looked at me with her big brown doe eyes. The gentlemanly thoughts just ran out of my head and the teenage hormones briefly took over at how innocent and irresistible she looked.

"Edward…" Bella said cautiously. "Have you ever…have you ever had…sex?" She was completely red now and my stomach was doing back flips at her question. I coughed nervously before answering.

"No, not yet…have you?" She was no longer looking me in the eyes but now seemed interested in the buttons on my shirt. Bella shook her head softly and turned away again. I brushed my hand under her chin so she gave me eye contact.

"Don't be embarrassed talking about this with me please. Tell me though, why did you ask?" I kissed her cheek encouragingly.

"Em…I was…wondering if we…we would ever…do…that." Well now she was officially blood red. I swear she couldn't have blushed more even if she tried.

"Do you…want to?" How can I ask her not to be embarrassed when I am?

"Not this minute." She said quickly. I chuckled lightly and got her to smile too.

"Obviously. But…"

"Yeah, I'd like to." She was still blushing and looking down at the floor. "But only if you want to."

"I do." I lifted her chin again and kissed her lovingly. Bella's arms wrapped round my neck and ran her fingers through my hair.

"Earlier you were about to say something but Alice cut in. What were you going to say?" She reminded me. I figured this was as good a place as any.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm head…heading to the bar." I looked past Bella to see James talking to Tanya. There seemed to be something wrong and I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her. I quickly walked away from Bella and moved over to the bar.

"Is everything okay here?" I asked Tanya with my hand on the small of her back.

"Eh…why don't we go sit Edward?" She asked worryingly. I shot a glare at James who was smirking and led Tanya away.

"What was that about?" I asked cautiously.

"He was just bragging about some of his conquests. I never who he and Bella-"I growled deep in my chest.

"He and Bella haven't done anything. He's convinced that she will sleep with him whether she wants to or not."

"What are you going to do?" Tanya asked as she sat back down at her table.

"Kill him." I growled.

"Be serious Edward. What are you going to do? It's not like you can just get rid of him."

"I'll think of something. He won't hurt her, I won't let him." She gently rubbed my arm, trying to calm me down.

_Bella's POV_

I watched Edward walk away from me feeling rejected. He walked over to the bar and met a girl before leading her away to another table. Looking around the dance floor I noticed I was just standing there by myself.

Deciding to get a drink I walked to the bar. I didn't feel like going back to the table for my water with everyone sitting there. I just needed to be alone right now. I know Edward says that he wanted to sleep with me but since he walked away right after I can't help think that he's put off by me.

I asked the bar man for another water and sat at on the stool waiting patiently.

"Well look who it is?" A familiar voice slurred from beside me. I looked over to the side to see James smirking at me. "How are you Bella? Still screwing Edward?" I ignored him completely and turned back to the bartender handing me my water.

I took a few gulps of water, drinking all most half of it as James scooted closer, his lips just millimetres away from my ear.

"I have the other half of your payment."

"What payment?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"I gave you fifty pence in advance for letting me screw you senseless and I have the other fifty pence which you will get after. So where would you like to go, bathroom, closet, my car, Edward's car or Edward's bed?" I shivered involuntarily at his chilling tone.

"I'm thinking Edward's bed, which would be most exciting." James grazed my arm rather roughly causing me to flinch. I slid off the bar stool and walked off to the bathroom quickly. Unfortunately James followed me there.

I walked into the ladies bathroom and went to lock the door but a foot was pushed through and jammed between the door. I was practically shoved backwards when James forced open the door and made his way in, before locking the door behind him. I dashed towards one of the cubicles and locked myself in there. It wasn't a foolproof since he could probably kick the door in if he wanted.

"Out you come Bella. Let's not make this difficult. You'll enjoy it more if you _come _nicely." I could hear the innuendo in what he said and could tell he was smirking at his joke. There were a few minutes of silence before James spoke again.

"You know what; I'll come back for you later. I don't have time to waste." From what I could hear he walked away and left the bathroom. Unfortunately from where I was I couldn't see if he had actually left or if he just made it sound like he had.

Slowly I undid the lock and walked out into the bathroom, looking around carefully. He wasn't there, thank god. I walked over to the sinks feeling scared at what could have taken place. I was assured that James wouldn't get near me but it turns out they were really wrong.

I turned the tap on and dabbed my face with the cooling water, trying to take the nerves off and get myself composed before heading back out there. The door opened and in walked an exceedingly pretty girl. She used the sink next to me and washed her hands before applying some makeup.

"Are you okay?" She asked calmingly, noticing my ragged state.

"Yeah I'm…I'm fine." I said shakily.

"Do you want me to get anyone for you?" I shook my head and tried to calm myself down before I broke into a fit of tears. "Well at least tell me your name?"

"Bella." I said smiling just for the sake of it.

"Nice to meet you Bella, I'm Tanya." I blinked twice, taking her in. I recognised her now; she was speaking to Edward earlier. It couldn't be a coincidence; she had to be the girl he's meant to be marrying. "You're the girl staying with the Cullens aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"How are you finding them?" Maybe she wanted to know some more about the family she would be joining.

"They're really nice and friendly."

"How do you get on with your exchange?"

"Which one? Alice or Edward?" I leant against the sink, drying my hands.

"Edward." Yeah she definitely wants to know what she's getting into. I wonder if she's aware that I know she's going to be marrying Edward, my boyfriend.

"He's a great guy, was a bit of an ass at first but after awhile I got use to him and he's incredibly sweet." She smiled softly at me and nodded before saying a quick goodbye and walking out of the bathroom.

God with competition like that I don't stand a chance of staying with Edward.

_Alice's POV_

Bella came out of the bathroom looking a little worse for wear than the last time I saw her. She sat down at our table and sipped a little bit of water. Something had to be wrong with her.

"Bella are you okay?" She just nodded but her eyes were glazed over with emotions I couldn't work out. I turned to Jasper and he answered before I could ask the question.

"She's hurt." He was frowning when he said that.

"Physically?" I asked, worried if James had got to her.

"No, or at least I don't think so. If she had been hurt _that _way she would be in shock and probably hysterical. No she's upset about something but I don't know what." Jasper was always good at reading people's emotions. I don't know how he did it but it was always accurate. "Don't worry Alice, maybe her and Edward had a fight or something." Jasper shrugged and wrapped his arm round me.

Speaking of Edward, I glanced around and noticed him approaching. He sat down next to Bella and tried to talk to her but she gave half answers. Something definitely was wrong with the two of them. This shouldn't be happening, not now, not when they are so close to admitting how they feel about each other.

Hell it took them months just to get together but now it's going to take forever for them to say those three words to each other. I know Edward loves Bella; the evidence is in his eyes. Since Bella already admitted that she loves Edward I know that's a fact too.

They are both just too stubborn and scared of getting hurt to tell each other. I'll have to help them out on this. Everything has gone to plan so far but I will not let then fall at the last hurdle. Whether they know it or not they are perfect for each other and they will stay together. No outside commitments interfering, no problems and protests with them being together, which means I'll have to convince Charlie.

Other than the obvious problems arising for these two like James, Tanya, Edward's predicament with his title and wealth, the travel distance between where they both live, they actually stand a chance of making it. I'm pretty sure I could get Rose to help out aswell and make sure the happy couple stay together.

For the rest of the night I watched Bella and Edward barely talk to each other. I hated seeing them like this and so did everyone else. Rose automatically picked up that something was wrong when Edward stroked Bella's arm and she flinched from his touch. Emmett only noticed something was wrong between them when we made our way home and they sat rigidly next to each other.

When we arrived home, Rose and Emmett were staying over, we all decided to get changed and come down to watch a movie. Edward and Bella both went upstairs and came down changed and as far as I could tell they didn't say a word to each other.

Throughout the whole movie it was awkward. Rose and Emmett were laying across the couch wrapped in each other, Jasper and I were cuddled up on the floor in a heap of blankets and pillows but Edward and Bella were sitting at opposite ends of the second couch, which can seat five people.

They looked completely ridiculous but nobody said anything. At the end of the movie they both went upstairs after helping us clean the room up. It looks as though their relationship is now on the rocks.

This is just not meant to be happening.

_Edward's POV_

I walked up the stairs behind her thinking about her during that movie. All I wanted to do was reaching out and pull her into my embrace yet I don't think she would be too pleased about that. I have no idea what I've done wrong but whatever it is it has to be pretty serious or she wouldn't be acting like this around me.

When she flinched under my touch at the party I was horrified with myself. Was I really that repulsing to her? I knew I didn't deserve an angel like her and now God's taking her back. I would have to do everything in my power to get her to talk to me again.

We reached the top of the stairs and both walked towards our bedrooms. I wonder what's going to happen tonight, will she sleep in my room or her own? I was about to find out.

"Goodnight." She mumbled, heading in to her room. I couldn't have her sleeping in there, not without making it clear I wanted her to join me in my bed, whether she was speaking to me or not.

"Bella." I said as I softly caught her wrist. "Please stay with me tonight."

"I can't sleep in your bed Edward." She said quietly.

"It's not my bed Bella. It's our bed. Please, sleep in our bed tonight." I pleaded with her. Ever so slowly she lifted her head and looked into my eyes. I felt lost looking into her deep brown ones, as though I was caught up in all her emotions.

"I can't."

"Why not?" I wasn't going to give up that easy.

"Edward…we can't do this anymore." My heart was breaking.

"Why?" My voice cracked and she looked up into my eyes. She must have seen the pain inside them.

"With Tanya and me leaving, this just doesn't seem plausible anymore."

"But I want to make this work with you Bella. I lo-"

"No Edward. We can't keep kidding ourselves. Goodnight." She cut me off from telling her I loved her and then walked away into her room, shutting the door softly behind her.

I felt like I had been hit by a train. She no longer wanted to be with me and in some way I should be glad that she will move on with her life and not have to deal with all this craziness but the other part of me is annoyed that I won't be a part of her life.

Slowly and pathetically I walked into my bedroom. That night my bed felt empty and cold without her body next to mine, in my arms. I missed her already and she was only across the hall but yet I felt miles away from her.

I guess all good things have to come to an end. I just wish it wasn't so soon.

**May 7th**

**2 Months Left**

I never fell asleep and at six am I decided to get up and go for a run round the gardens. This did not help as it was quiet and left me with all my thoughts about Tanya and Bella. If I had to choose the choice would be obvious, Bella hands down, but now that I know she doesn't want me, well it's a whole new game now.

I didn't see Bella at all and I was a little relieved. Seeing her would only bring back the pain and love I have for her. Whether she knows it or not but she has my heart and no matter how this ends between us she will always have it.

Tanya arrived at around eleven and we went out to the veranda to talk. I had spent my whole day deciding what to do about us, this situation, and this predicament we were in. We sat down on the bench together and looked out over the gardens.

I pulled out the engagement ring and played with it in my hands. "I'm out here to ask you to marry me-"I paused unsure whether to continue or not. If I ask her I'm doing everything that is expected of me, if I don't I risk everything, including Bella since she might not feel the same way about me. I sighed loudly and ran a hand through my hair.

"Let me make this easier for you. I won't marry you Edward." Tanya stated with a small smile playing on her lips. "It doesn't take a genius to work out that you are head over heels in love with her." She nodded her head towards Bella who was being dragged through the gardens by Alice.

"I couldn't marry you Edward when I know that the only girl you want to marry is over there. Plus what type of marriage would it be? I don't love you and you don't love me but we have to have children together. Somehow I just don't think that will work."

"Thank you." I said relieved. "You have no idea how grateful I am that you're turning me down. What will your father say?" I asked nervously.

She paled slightly before answering. "He'll be pissed but I already have another engagement offer so he can't be that mad."

"The Earl?" She smiled brightly and nodded.

"The Earl."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you, I'll invite you to the wedding and you can bring your…fiancée?" I smiled but shook my head.

"Bella won't marry me. I don't think she likes the idea of marriage and what's the rush, we do have our whole lives ahead of us. But that would require her to be talking to me which…she's not."

"What happened?"

"Well she doesn't think it's a good idea for us to still be dating when I was meant to be marrying you."

"Do you need me to talk to her?" Tanya asked kindly, trying to help me out.

"No don't worry its okay. I'm sure this will blow over and things will eventually go back to normal."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

"Okay then, well I better go and break the news to daddy dearest. Have an ambulance on standby he might just have a heart attack." I smirked and shook my head before following her into the house.

_Bella's POV_

I saw Edward lead Tanya out of the house onto the veranda. They looked really good together and I knew they would be a perfect couple. I couldn't be angry at Tanya because she was being forced into this aswell but I was slightly jealous. She's going off into the sunset with the guy I love and he doesn't even know. But it's not like I could tell him.

Alice insisted on showing me her new car that was parked further down in the estate as there was an open field where she could just open the engine up. I looked back over at Edward and saw him pull an engagement ring box out of his pocket. I abruptly felt sick to my stomach.

He was proposing to her.

They were now engaged.

Suddenly it didn't seem wise to drive around in Alice's new death trap at speeds well over one hundred miles per hour when my inside are about to come spewing out. I froze in the path when I saw him take it out of his pocket, Alice who grew impatient dragged me on, not realising the breaking of my heart at that precise moment.

He certainly moved on fast. Good to know how little I mean to him.


	27. Chapter 27: Lovesick

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Lovesick**

**May 13th**

**1 Month 3 Weeks & 1 Day Left**

_Edward's POV_

Since the day Bella said it was over between us I haven't been able to eat, sleep, think, talk or enjoy anything. I've become this hollow zombie that just walks around, listening but not really hearing. I'm one lovesick fool. Alice noticed the biggest change in me but I knew she wasn't saying anything to alert our parents.

I was trying to get over her but I knew it was a hopeless cause since I didn't want to get over her. I just wanted her.

We had managed to see very little of each other and stayed away from one another. It hurt too much to see her and know I couldn't have her, that she didn't want me. Alice spent all her time with Bella which left Jasper and me to hang out a lot. According to Jasper, who was told by Alice, Bella wasn't as happy as she seemed.

That gave me a small glimmer of hope that she may still miss me like I miss her. I only hope.

Somehow Alice managed highjack Bella and I, who knows how she did it but she did. Then she walked us through the gardens, towards the conservatory. Bella didn't seem very impressed that she was near me and was avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"So I wanted to talk to both of you, together." Alice said, practically skipping along the path. "Things can't continue like this much longer."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Alice." Bella said, trying to move away from her.

"Now Bella, Edward, I know you two are having some kind of lovers tiff but everything will be fixed shortly." Both Bella and I shot her a quizzical look as Alice dragged us through the conservatory with our arms entwined with hers.

Before I knew what happened something cold and hard clasped around my right wrist and snapped shut encircling it. I looked down to see my wrist in a handcuff, attached to Bella's left wrist.

"Alice what the hell are you doing?!" I asked as she dashed away, leaving us standing there, cuffed to one another, looking completely confused.

The conservatory doors shut and locked then Alice took a lipstick out her pocket and drew on the glass doors. The message said: 'It's for your own good. See you in 24 hours.' Both Bella and I were fuming; this was not where we wanted to be.

I walked over to the door, bringing Bella with me, and tried the handle although Alice locked the door. It was worth a shot even though the door didn't open.

"Well now what do we do?" Bella asked as she leant against the wall.

"I have no idea." I muttered looking around. There really is nothing to do in here.

Bella started walking towards the main room in the conservatory and sat down on the chairs provided. We both sat there in silence. I want to talk to her, to understand what's going on between us, or not as the case may be.

"Bella?" I asked softly. She gazed up at me and I was lost in her deep brown eyes. "Talk to me, please. I need to know what went wrong."

"Went wrong where?"

"Between us."

"That's the problem Edward, there can't be an us."

"Yes there can. I'll make it happen." She sighed and looked pitifully at me.

"I don't want you to make it happen. I don't want there to be an us anymore."

"Why? What did I do?" I asked desperately. I was not willing to lose her without trying.

"You didn't do anything. It's the lifestyle you lead. Edward we knew this was going to happen eventually. Whether it happens now or in a month it still has to happen. We have to end this, it'll never work out. You're getting married for god's sake!"

"Who am I marrying?" Now I was lost.

"Your fiancée obviously." I continued to frown and look at her like she was mad. As far as I knew I did not have a fiancée.

"Who is my fiancée?" I questioned bemused.

"Tanya."

"What? No I'm not engaged to her." I said shaking my head.

"I saw you propose to her."

"No." Slowly I repeatedly shook my head. "I didn't propose to her. We worked something out and the wedding is just about off. Our parents are working out the finer details about what's going to happen."

"But…you had an engagement ring when you were speaking to her." She said frowning.

"Yeah because I was meant to propose to her, not that I was going to."

"I just assumed that-"

"Well there's the problem, you assumed. When you assume you make an ass out of you and me." I said smiling softly.

"But that doesn't solve everything. Whether you are engaged or not, it doesn't matter. We live three hours apart in different cities and come from complete different lifestyles-"

"Can you have some faith in us, please?" I cut her off. "Bella I am crazy about you and yes we will have to face some problems but I want to be with you, no matter what. I've never felt this way before and I don't want to lose you."

"I'm not yours to lose." She whispered before wrapping her free hand round herself. I sighed loudly and slumped back in my chair, feeling slightly defeated.

We sat there for several hours, in silence. Bella managed to find a book to read as I sat watching her. The night grew on and it started to get darker outside and colder inside. I'm not sure my sister really thought this through very well. For starters there is nothing to eat in here, second it doesn't have heating as it's a conservatory and the sun supplies its heat, and thirdly what did she think we were going to be doing? Making up, I don't think so.

_Bella's POV_

This was so awful, and worst of all Edward spent the whole time watching me. I wasn't really reading the book but I needed something to take my mind off the ache in my chest that started when I told him that I didn't want there to be an us.

Eventually Edward broke the silence.

"Okay Bella this is probably really inappropriate but I need to go to the bathroom." He said grimacing.

"You've got to be kidding me?!" I asked exasperatedly, how was that even going to be possible with us handcuffed together?

"Nope, I'm deadly serious. I've been holding since we were shut in here. I really did not think my sister would keep us in here all night. Anyway, I need to go pronto."

"Well how the hell do you intend to do that, we are attached. There is no way I'm going to the bathroom with you!"

"We don't exactly have a choice and believe me when I say I would never want you to go to the bathroom with me."

"Please tell me that you just need to pee?" I grimaced at how atrocious this was. Alice was so dead.

"Yes, thank god."

"Well where's the bathroom? I can turn the other way or something." I grimaced at the horrible ordeal I was about to face.

"Try not to look so put out; I'm not enjoying the prospect of you standing two feet from me while I take a leak. There is a bathroom down this way." Edward walked off, pulling me along with him.

This was so awkward. Not only was I not meant to be talking to him but I was not meant to be assisting him to the bathroom, though I'm sure he doesn't need assistance. Well I bloody hope not. The bathroom was pitch black when we entered so Edward switched the lights on and looked at me apprehensively.

"How do you want to do this?" He asked softly.

"I don't know Edward, you're the one peeing not me." He sighed and ran his free hand through his hair.

"Fine." He pulled us over to the toilet and looked awkwardly at me. "If you face the other way then that should be alright." He looked a little embarrassed, good because my cheeks were practically bright red. This was so bad.

I heard him fumbling with his belt as I faced the sinks and mirror, looking at my reflection. He swore under his breath and sighed loudly before practically groaning my name.

"What is it?"

"I need to use my second hand, the one cuffed to you." He said exasperated.

"Why?" I enquired, there was no way he was going to use that hand. If he did then it would mean my hand was practically millimetres away from _there _and right now that was something I was definitely not comfortable with.

"I can't undo my belt, or pants. It'll take two seconds, I promise."

"Fine." I sighed and felt him move his cuffed hand along with mine.

I was still facing away from him and couldn't see where my hand was, not that I wanted to, but I could feel the cool metal of his belt buckle and the rough of his denim jeans below my knuckles. I knew exactly where my hand was without looking.

Edward was trying very quickly to get his belt undone but he had more trouble with his zipper. It wasn't the zipper himself that was the problem, it was my hand. I tried to keep it as far away from him as possible but every so often it would brush against him groin and I just wanted to die. Eventually he shoved our hands back round behind his back after undoing his pants.

"Please do not tell me you need any more help?" I prayed to god he didn't.

"No, I can manage." He practically growled.

The eerie silence was awful. This whole situation was awful. Edward pounded his fist against the wall and sighed loudly again.

"What's wrong?!" I asked, sounding as aggravated as he probably was.

"Turn on the taps." He growled again.

"What? Are you serious?" I said trying not to laugh at him having stage fright about this.

"Yes. I do not want the only noise in here to be me peeing, especially not with you." I did as I was asked and turned on the taps.

It worked and all I could here was the gushing water flowing freely down the drain before Edward flushed the toilet, coughed and said he was done. He turned to face me and scared me half to death when his trousers were still undone, revealing his black boxers below.

"Sorry." He murmured. "I wanted to wash my hand first."

"No that's fine." He moved us over and washed his hand thoroughly. Then dried it with a towel lying on the countertop. He tried to do his pants back up but unsuccessfully and I was getting impatient with him so just decided to do it for him so we could get out of here.

He seemed as shock as I was when I realised that I had just pushed against his crotch, pulled his zipper up and fumbled to do the buttons before fixing his belt. I looked up to see his reaction to what I did and noticed he had his eyes clasped shuck and looked like he was in pain.

"Edward?" I whispered, scared that he might startle.

"Mmmm-hmmm"

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" My voice wavered but he didn't seem to notice. When he opened his eyes the topaz colour I was so used to seeing was now pitch black.

"No you didn't hurt me." He took a deep breath then his eyes calmed slightly, returning to normal before we left the bathroom and headed back out to the main sitting area.

It was late by this time and both of us were rather tired. I kept yawning and the dark circles under his eyes seemed to be getting darker from lack of sleep. Edward got us some cushions off of a few chairs and found some blankets.

"How do we sleep?" I asked as we both lay down on the marble floor with the two blankets over our legs.

"Em…good question." Edward looked at our arms then manoeuvred around a bit, changing the way he was lying before sitting up and moving my arm a bit. "If you lay down facing towards the window and put your cuffed hand in front of your body, away me, then I can put arm under or above your head and we should be able to sleep properly."

"Okay, let's try that." I didn't mind being that close to him since it's not like I actually had a choice thanks to Alice and her stupid hand cuffs.

Edward and I both lay down and I did exactly as he said. It was more comfortable for the both us if my head leant against his arm. Basically we were spooning but our arms were in a rather complicated manor. Edward's other arm came to rest on my waist, sending chills up my spine, as there was nowhere else for it to be.

"Goodnight Edward." I said softly.

"Goodnight Bella, sleep well." He kissed the back of my head gently before going to sleep.

_Edward's POV_

There was going to be no way I would get to sleep that night, Bella just smelt far too good and I was completely intoxicated by her.

It was impossible to be this close to her and not hold her properly or kiss her. This will be hard, in fact almost impossible, for me just to be around her. We can't exactly go back to being friends since we've come so far and I can honestly say I don't want to go back to being just friends. We were never very good friends anyway.

Her top had slowly ridden up and was showing a small amount of skin on her hip. Ever so slowly, so I didn't startle her, I caressed the skin. She was so soft and warm. My entire body was screaming for me to turn her over so I could kiss her but I don't think she would really appreciate that.

"God I love you Bella." I whispered. This was probably the only time I would ever tell her, she just happened to be unconscious.


	28. Chapter 28: Terror

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. _

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Terror**

**May 16th**

**1 Month 2 Weeks & 6 Days Left**

_Edward's POV_

Breakfast always became my morning nightmare after a turbulent night of no sleeping. Every day I had to sit across from Bella at the breakfast table and it was getting exceedingly difficult to stand the icy atmosphere between us.

Bella wasn't exactly being mean or hostile to me, just ignoring my every move and word. Unfortunately I cannot stop noticing her, when I walk into a room she's the first person I spot out. I am struggling with this and will no doubt struggle for the rest of this exchange. I don't want it to be over but I'm tired of this unfriendliness that seems to surround our 'friendship'.

"Your father and I need to use the driver this morning so we shall allow you to use your cars; the keys are in the hall." Esme told us, disrupting me from my thoughts. Alice's eyes shone brightly at the prospect of driving; no doubt we would be speeding before we even got out of the estate.

As soon as we could leave the table Alice raced out got ready in record time then came down the stairs with Bella being dragged behind her. Alice grabbed her new car keys and sprinted out the door. Before I had even picked the keys to the Volvo I could hear Alice rev out the grounds.

When I arrived at school Alice was leaning on the hood of her car waiting on me, Bella was nowhere in sight. I parked my car and approached my sister apprehensively, she had that peculiar look again, the one similar to when she told me she signed us up for this exchange.

"Edward, we need to talk." Alice entwined her arm in mine and led me through the grounds towards my first class. "I tried to help you and Bella but I can only do so much, you need to do more." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Alice I tried, she just doesn't want to know. I haven't got a clue how to convince her that I'm crazy about her."

"That's why I'm here. I can help. I am a little disappointed that the two of you didn't get closer after I locked you in the conservatory-"

"Yeah thanks for that, I've never been more embarrassed in my life."

"What? Why?" She shot me a peculiar look.

"I had to…you know what it doesn't matter." That was one thing I really didn't want to share with my sister.

"Anyway I was thinking that you should just tell her."

"Tell her what?"

"Tell Bella that you love her." I opened my mouth to speak but she shushed me before I had a chance. "I know that you've tried but you need to try harder. She may want to cut you off but we are going to try extra hard to let her know."

"Why Alice? Why should I when she doesn't want to know?" I protested.

"Look this isn't how it's meant to be."

"It may not be but this is how it is. Bella clearly doesn't want to be with me so I'll leave it like that. She's rejected me so that's what I'll be, a reject." I untwined our arms and walked away, into my first class.

Although Alice thinks that Bella and I are perfect for each other, I'm not so sure. If she's already given up on us and we haven't even started then what type of relationship would we have anyway?

_Alice's POV_

I have no idea what to do about these two. They are far too stubborn for their own damn good. My next class was with Bella and the teacher was so laid back it would be a brilliant time for me to pump information from her.

Bella was sitting near the back of the room when I arrived so I made my way back and seated myself next to her. As soon as I had an opportunity I tried to bring up the topic of Edward.

"So you and my brother, what's going on there?" I was attempting to be subtle but it was not really possible, Bella saw straight through it.

"I really don't know." She sighed softly.

"Do you like him?" She nodded but gave me a pitiful look. "Then what's wrong?"

"I don't know if I can handle this, your life. I don't belong here and Edward certainly doesn't where I live. I really doubt that we could make it."

"You'll never know unless you try." I said softly, not wanting to push the topic too much.

"I'm also scared of the heartbreak. I love your brother but he could destroy that with one word."

"He wouldn't. I've never seen Edward like this before; you really need to talk to him. Can you at least do that for me, please?"

"Okay. Yeah I'll talk to him."

We left it like that but it was a start. Edward would talk to Bella if she was willing to listen so it's a step in the right direction.

_Bella's POV_

The day passed in its usual mundane fashion. The only different thing that occurred was that I received a note in eighth period. It read:

_To Bella,_

_I would really like the opportunity to talk to you after school. Meet me in the dance studio at half five._

_From Edward_

Since I did promise Alice that I would talk to Edward this seemed like the most convenient situation. I briefly told her I was going to meet Edward after school and that he would take me home so she didn't have to wait around for me then I headed off to the library to wait until half five.

At five twenty I made my way through the school to the gym department where the dance studio was situated. Surprisingly the school grounds were relatively quiet for this time of night, most stay until about seven to get extra work done.

The gym department was deserted and a little eerie as I made my way up the steps to the dance studio on the top floor. The door was unlocked so I pushed it open and entered. Surprisingly the lights were off and it was pitch black in there.

The door shut behind me and I turned to hit the lights against the wall. Instead my hand thumped against something hard, but not as hard as the wall I was expecting. My heart rate shot through the roof when I light rumble could be felt under my hand from someone chuckling.

This definitely wasn't Edward; he would never do this to me.

My hand fell from the person's chest as I tried not to faint from the fear. The lock of the door shocked me and I turned towards the noise gasping, my breathing getting heavier each second. Slowly I walked backwards; I was going on the notion that if I couldn't see them then they couldn't see me.

I heard movements to my left and turned sharply, trying to catch just a glimpse of who it was. Something brushed my back and I whirled round again. But all I could see was the abyss of black before me.

My heart was pumping at a million miles an hour and the adrenaline from the fear was gushing through my veins. It was made all that worse by the fact I couldn't see who was in here with me or where about they were.

I calmed my breathing down, trying to make as little noise as possible and gently walked towards the place I thought the door was located. I put my hands out in front of me and was met with the mirrors covering the back wall. I didn't think I had travelled that far down the hall so I must have been more disorientated than I thought.

A hand brushed my neck then glided away into the dark. Chills were running up and down my spine and it felt like I was being toyed with before they went in for the 'kill'. Obviously no one would do that, I hope, but then again I have no idea what psycho would do this.

Ever so slowly something rolled across the floor and stopped near me. I was apprehensive to pick it up but did so anyway. It was a fifty pence coin from what I could feel. That's when it all fell into place. I was in here with James.

My body froze and I felt as though I was putting up defences for what was no doubt about to be a struggle ahead. There was no way for me to see where the door was and the only way I would be able to find it was if I felt my way along the walls.

I hadn't heard James move and nothing touched me as I ran my hands over the mirrors. I was completely unnerved by the stillness in the pitch black room as I probably could have coped better if I had a small clue as to where he was.

It was the not knowing that was driving me mad, the not knowing and the suspense of knowing what was sure to come.

I had to get out of here; I kept chanting in my head, I had to get out of here fast. Who knows when James would grow bored with scaring and decided enough was enough. I was sure I could put up a good fight but I wasn't sure how brilliant it would be if I couldn't see him.

On the wall opposite the door was a poster explaining various dance techniques; it was the only poster in the room. The second my hand ran across the laminated sheet I worked out where I was standing. I had had enough abysmal lessons in here to know the layout like the back of my hand. Turning round and looking into the black void ahead I knew that if I walked straight across the floor I would eventually get to the door.

Very slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible I walked across the floor, praying that I wouldn't stand on a floorboard that squeaked and give the game away. Since James hadn't made his presence known in the last few minutes I could only conclude that he didn't know where I was, or that he was watching and waiting for the perfect moment. The second thought chilled me to the bone so I concluded that he must not know where I am.

I must have been in the middle of the floor when it happened. As I was moving further away from the wall with the poster a blinding light shone in my eyes. Instinctively I clamped my eyes shut and put my hand over them. It hurt like hell; I felt as though I had looked into the intense light of the sun and burnt my corneas.

Before I had time to recover I was hit with another blow, literally. Something exceedingly hard and firm slammed into my body and knocked me to the floor. It could only be his body, which meant he knew exactly where I was the whole time and that this was the moment I was dreading for.

I could hear his low chuckling as I tried to move away from him, still partially blinded, not like seeing helped since it was so dark in here. His body was away from me and but his fist connected with my ribs. I don't know if he meant to hit me there but it certainly winded me.

I lay on the floor clutching my ribcage and struggling to breathe as he walked around my helpless figure. His footsteps surrounded me and I felt lost, as though this was the end. He stopped and I braced myself for the next blow, to the leg this time, causing me release a blood-curdling scream of pain. It wasn't a punch or a kick; he had used something to break my bone, making it impossible to go anywhere.

The tears were running down my face and making my hair and neck wet but I refused to give up just yet. The worse was not over. I was the baby seal and he was the orca, this was his game of immobilising me before he finished this off.

"Relax Bella; it'll be so much easier this way." James said. "If you resist you only hurt yourself more." I swallowed hard, thinking of any way I could fight him if he came near me, which he would eventually.

I figured I didn't have much time left so tried with all my might to crawl to the door, dragging my aching leg behind me. Blocking out the pain was nearly impossible but I couldn't even begin to think of what was going to happen to me if I didn't try to get out of here.

"Not so fast." James grabbed my leg and pulled me bag across the floor. "I'm not done with you yet. In fact I haven't even started." I screamed in agony at the convulsing pain taking over my body. I've had accidents before but none this bad.

James walked away, into the abyss, and then the lights were turned on. I could see him fully. His pupils were dilated and I could barely see any of his irises. His eyes were basically pitch black and frightening to the bone. Taking in the rest of the room I could see that if I hadn't been knocked to the floor I was about five steps from the door and that he hit me with what looks like a metal bar that was lying a few feet away, inconveniently out of my reach.

"I want him to remember this like Emmett will remember what happened to Rose." James moved and brought out a camcorder he had from a rucksack in the corner of the room. He placed it on a tripod that had been set up, angled at the floor where I was laying. Oh god he was going to film this.

The tears were streaming down my face but I didn't make a noise, that's what he would want, the sick bastard.

He set the camera up and hit the record button, a red light came on to show it was working correctly before James smiled at me and walked round to my legs. I tried to kick with my good leg but he caught it effortlessly and grabbed my now swollen leg, it looked ghastly in the light. I cried out in pain as he turned me round, so I was no longer facing the camera. Instead it had a view of my whole body from my head to my feet.

He smiled cheekily at me then began to undo his belt as he spoke to the camera. I wasn't taking in what he was saying. I was trying not to break down and realise how helpless I was. That there was no one here to protect me and no matter what I could do it was over. James was going to get what he wanted then leave me here. My innocence would be stolen by a sadistic bastard who got off by fear and pain.

_Edward's POV_

I had just gotten out of detention when I looked at my watch and saw it was ten to six. God my parents won't be pleased that I got a detention. My perfect record has been marred, all because that bastard was being a loud mouthed git.

Normally I don't let people get to me but James just has a knack for it. He was talking about what he and Bella would be getting up to and I lost it. I shoved him into a wall, much to his pleasure as it was an official declaration that we were now going to have this out. But we never got the chance, a teacher broke it up before it became anything and we both got landed with detention.

But I was the only one who turned up for it.

James didn't attend, not like that hasn't happened before but no member of staff went looking for him and I still had to serve my detention. When I walked out into the parking lot I noticed Alice's car still there which was weird as she and Bella should have gone home already.

Much like this morning Alice was perched on the hood of her car but this time she had a magazine in her lap. "Hey, where's Bella?" She asked me. I frowned and looked around. Was I meant to know where she was?

"I don't know, I thought she was with you. What are you still doing here anyway?" Alice looked confused but answered anyway.

"I figured that if the talk between you two didn't go well then she might want a lift home with me instead. How did it go?"

"What?" Now I was really confused.

"The talk?" Alice narrowed her eyes and I could see that this wasn't adding up to her either.

"I don't know what talk you going on about. I've been at detention and haven't spoken to Bella all day."

"What? No you sent her a note saying you wanted to speak to her?" Alice protested, suddenly sitting up sharply.

"No I didn't. She's made it perfectly clear she doesn't want to talk or listen to me so I'm giving up, letting her move on."

"No! She specifically said you sent her a note wanting to speak to her!" Her voice was nervous and a little shaky.

"I promise you I didn't. When was I apparently meant to speak to her anyway?" I asked feeling suddenly very anxious.

"At half five in the dance studio." I shook my head.

"I didn't send that note." I thought a few things through. "Wait when did she get the note?" Please tell me it was before lunch.

"Last period. Why?" I got my detention at lunch so James knew I would be staying late. He had the perfect set up to lure Bella to him.

"I'm going to kill the bastard!" I bellowed before taking off for the gym department. Alice must have caught on because she began racing after me, dialling on her cell phone as she ran.

I glanced as my watch whilst running. If she was meant to meet him at half five that meant she'd been alone with him for half an hour, more than enough time to traumatise her.

_Bella's POV_

James prowled before me, moving his belt out of the way. I glanced around me quickly hoping for one last chance to slow him down. To my luck, as James had turned me he had accidently brought me closer to the metal bar.

Suddenly James was above me, leaning on his hands with his knee trying to move my legs. I was shaking my head and pushing at his chest with one hand. The other one was snaking above me to get the bar before he noticed.

My finger tips were just touching the end of it, not enough to get grip. Before I risked being caught or wasting time I pushed my body with as much might as I could, ignoring the pain in my leg. I got a hold of the bar and shut my eyes as I swung it towards James.

I felt and heard it collide with him, he grunted and fell away from me. Still holding the bar I moved closer to the door as fast as possible. James would no doubt be up and heading towards me as soon as he could so I had to be quick.

All my attempts seemed to be in vain though as my foot was grabbed, luckily on the good leg. I don't know if I could have dealt with that pain much longer. Deciding I had no option I turned as best as I could and threw the bar at him. Usually my aim sucks but God must have been on my side as it hit him on the forehead. He cursed like a sailor at me as I scrambled for the door.

"There's no point fighting this Bella. No one's coming for you except me. Just let me get this over with. Rose will tell you that it's better if you just let me have my way. There is no need for all this pain you're causing yourself." Yeah because I'm really the one who broke my own leg, I thought sarcastically as I continued to move away.

The handle was so close and I was instantly relieved the second my clammy hand grasped the cool metal. I tried to the open the door but the lock was being stubborn. The lock was easily undone but I found it exceedingly hard to pull the door open.

Of course that wasn't my only problem. Once I opened the door I had to travel along the hall, down the stairs then out of the building and find someplace to hide. It was going to be hell but I needed to do it.

The door barely opened but I manoeuvred through it, gasping as my bad leg got caught on the door. James was still in the dance studio as the door shut behind me. I pulled myself along the ground and instead of heading down the stairs moved into a storage room off to the side of the main corridor. The door shut behind me and I was consumed in darkness once again.

I tried with all my might to be quiet and not let my sobs of fear make any sound. The tears were still pouring down my face and I begged for some type of intervention to save me from this terror.

A door slammed somewhere in the building which had me holding my breath, James must have gotten up and was on his search. A thundering of feet raced past the door, maybe James called for backup. I was as still as a mouse and could vaguely hear yelling and then a smash.

I didn't want to know what was going on. I just needed to block it out. Some more people raced along the corridor and headed in the same direction James last was. The yelling picked up and the smashing increased. It sounded like a brawl was taking place, this could have been my chance to get away but I wasn't going to risk it. If I was caught the consequences could be worse than the fear of staying hidden.

There was mumbling and the yelling had stopped. Slowly people walked up and down the hall outside the door that would give me away when opened. I could make out someone standing on the other side of the door, no doubt looking for me.

The door opened and arms wrapped round me. I cried out and shoved this person away, I was not going back to James, this couldn't happen. This person was persistent and kept their strong arms round me, taking every hit I was giving them.

"Bella it's me Edward…shh…you're safe now. I promise." He held me tight against his chest and I took in his scent before my body relaxed slightly. He was here, I was safe.

I sobbed into his chest and probably soaked his shirt but this was the shock taking over. I just needed him to now, to enclose me in his arms and never let go. As much as I tried to fight it this was when I realised how much I loved him, how much I needed him and not just because some crazy psycho was after me.

"I…ve…uo…ward." I sobbed out between tears. Hopefully he could detect what I was trying to say. I loved him and he needed to know before I lost him for good. I had pushed him away and maybe I had pushed him too far that he wouldn't come back to me.

_Edward's POV_

I held her in my arms as she cried and spoke incoherent sentences. The shock had taken her over and she needed to be seen by a doctor. Her leg looked pretty bust and she seemed to be protecting her ribcage as I was holding her.

Even so softly I lifted her up into my arms and kissed her forehead. Alice nodded from the end of the hall where Jasper and Emmett were restraining James until I could get back. I didn't want to leave Bella's side but I had this overwhelming desire to beat him to a pulp.

I placed Bella into the backseat of the Volvo and raced to get in the front. I'd take her straight to my father Carlisle. He would understand and could do this with a great deal of discretion. He would ask what happened so he could heal Bella but wouldn't dig around for answers if I resisted his questions. Taking Bella to a hospital would set alarm bells off, her parents would be called, they police would want to deal with James, they'd want to interview Bella to get her side of the story, I wouldn't put her through that unless she made it 100 percent clear that's what she wanted.

On arrival at home I carried Bella into the house, she had fallen asleep on the there, and located my mother walking to the living room. She gasped at the sight of Bella and asked what happened. I said that she was hurt and I suspected her leg was broken. Esme raced off and got my father to attend to Bella. To make her more comfortable I placed her on my bed then sat down watching her intently. Carlisle came in and started checking her for injuries. He agreed with my diagnosis and suspected that her leg was broken but that she would need to get x-rays in case the bone was shattered.

Bella woke up and explain what was sore, her ribs and leg, apart from that she was fine. My mother forced sugary drinks and water down her throat to keep her blood sugar levels up and to keep her hydrated. Bella did not want her parents knowing what really happened but she did fill in my parents.

From this we concocted a plan that Bella simply fell down our stairs and collided with furniture at the bottom, this could explain her injuries. So my parents took her to the hospital. I wanted to go with them but my mother told me not to, that it would be easier if I stayed away. Apparently I looked too worked up, angry and worried for her just to have fallen down the stairs.

The only upside was that I could go back to James.

I'm surprised the steering wheel didn't crack under the pressure of my fists as I glided through the traffic and neck breaking speeds. Emmett's jeep was still there along with Alice's car so they were all still here. Alice had called and said Jasper went home to comfort Rose as she heard what happened and was upset. The only reason Emmett stayed was the same reason I was here.

Revenge.

James was at one end of the dance studio, practically baring his teeth and growling at us when I entered. Alice was standing guard on the door; she was going to warn us if a teacher or janitor happened to come by.

Just from looking at him I could tell he was high on drugs, no one's pupils do that normally. He also had taken a few strikes to the head, with blood seeping into his white shirt, but was ignoring the pain or he genuinely couldn't feel it. Emmett had taken a few shots at him with the bar lying on the ground but he still seemed unfazed.

"How is your whore?!" He was basically spitting venom at us when he asked me. My blood was boiling inside of me and I was getting to the point where I wouldn't be held responsible for my actions.

I picked up the metal bar and watched Emmett glare at James, if looks could kill. From the mirrors smashed around the wall I could gather that Emmett had probably missed a few times and that James tried his best to fight back.

Emmett advanced on James from the left and me from the right. He was getting backed against a wall and was going to have no way out. He was in range when he tried to shove passed us so I swung the bar and smashed it into his ribs; he hurt Bella's ribs so I'm going to hurt his. Emmett wrestled him to the floor and started punching his face, that was one of the things he did to Rose when she wouldn't stop screaming. After it she thought herself ugly because of the injuries but Emmett still thought she was as beautiful as the day he met her.

James was trying to kick his way free but I wasn't having it. I rounded on him and brought the bar down on his leg. He screeched in pain and although I'm not sadistic it felt exceedingly good to hear this son of a bitch in agony.

Emmett and I spent about ten minutes roughing him about then decided to leave him. Although we both wanted to kill him that was completely out of the equation. Alice looked us over before we headed out to our cars. Alice was heading off home to get things nice and ready for Bella arriving back from the hospital where I was going to go and check on Bella. Emmett was desperate to see Rose.

Their two cars drove off as I turned on the engine. The school grounds were deserted and the only sound heard was Debussy filling the car. I needed to calm down before I turned the car around and killed the git. Just as I was about to pull out of the grounds something smashed into my windscreen. At first I thought I hit an animal but then it came down and hit again, shattering the glass in on me.

My face stung like hell and I put my foot on the pedal, not caring who I hit in the process. Speeding down the street I looked behind me and noticed a figure with flaming red hair with a pipe in their hand. Obviously it was somebody who associated with James but I didn't have time to think about that.

Taking in my appearance, as much as I could, I was bleeding from my face and had cuts up my arms from the glass shards. Good thing I was going to the hospital because I now needed to.

Walking into the accident and emergency unit I scanned the plastic chairs for my family and Bella, they weren't there so she must be getting seen to. I filled in the forms at the desk and was giving a bandage to dab on my cuts to stop the blood from going everywhere. Since I still had open wounds they took me exceedingly quickly.

After all the glass was removed and the cuts cleaned and bandaged in some places I was sent on my way. Eventually I located Bella's room and she was lying in a hospital gown asleep. My parents were sitting close by watching her with care.

"Oh god Edward, what happened?" Esme asked alarmed by my appearance. She pulled me into my arms and checked me over for anymore injuries than the obvious ones.

"Some thug smashed in my windscreen as I was driving, this is just cuts from the glass. I'm fine. How's she?" My eyes travelled over to my sleeping beauty.

"The doctors are just keeping her here for observation, her ribs aren't broken but as she was struggling to breath they thought it wise she stay for a few more hours. At the moment she's sleeping everything off. Her leg is broken but from what they said it was a clean break and should heal quickly, they cast it and she will be able to leave, at the latest, tomorrow morning."

"Have her parents been called?" I asked, Charlie was going to kill me no doubt.

"Yes we spoke to both of them and they are on their way here."

"Does that mean she'll leave before finishing the exchange?" My voice was thick with worry.

"We'll have to wait and see, that's for her parents to decide." Esme brought me over and sat me next to Bella's bed.

I held her hand and sat there watching her the whole night. My parents left and offered to take me home but I refused, I couldn't leave her, not like this, not when this was my fault. I just needed a chance to love her without her protesting and by sitting by her bedside I felt like I was able to do just that.


	29. Chapter 29: Staying and Analysing

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Staying and Analysing **

**May 17th**

**1 Month 2 Weeks & 5 Days Left**

_Edward's POV_

"Hi." My head shot up and I looked up to see Bella awake. "What happened to you?" Bella asked, running her hand over my arms as I sat on the chair next to her bed with my arms resting next to one of hers.

"Oh…it's nothing, someone just smashed my windscreen." I said not wanting to worry her.

"Whilst you were driving?" The frown and concern across her face made me unhappy. She should not be wasting her time worrying about me when she has to get better.

"Yeah." I answered nonchalantly.

"Edward I'm so sorry. I never meant for-" Suddenly she was in full swing for an apology, one I was not going to accept.

"Hey you didn't do this. You have nothing to be sorry for. Trust me, please. Anyway, how are you feeling?" I held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Okay I guess. Still a little shook up but they've got me on pain medication so I'm not really feeling anything at the moment." Bella smiled reassuringly and looked at the blanket covering her legs. "What happened to the tape? That's all I can think about. If someone got a hold-"

"Shhh. It's okay. Jasper took the tape out of the room when we were searching for you. He didn't want it to continue recording and we might have needed it for evidence." Bella looked relieved as she smiled softly at me.

"Your parents are here." I said, trying to break the silence we were about to lapse into.

"Oh god, did they buy what we said?" Obviously, that was not the right thing to say as she started panicking again.

"Yeah they understood how clumsy you were and thought it sounded like something you would do." I gave her a smile and kissed the back of her hand. I just wanted to touch her and make sure she was okay.

"What's going to happen?" I could tell she was really asking about the exchange and whether or not she'll finish it.

"I think they are going to get your things from our house this afternoon and drive you back to Charlie's." Or so I had been told before her parents went to get something to eat with mine.

"But…I don't want to go." She said quietly. The look of her just slightly unhappy made my heart tighten for her. I really wanted to wrap her in my arms and never let go.

"I don't want you to go either." I said honestly, running my hands up and down her arm.

"Is there any way I can stay?"

"Well my parents have no problem with you staying. We just have to convince yours." She was looking straight at me thinking hard then gently smiled.

"I'll be staying with Charlie?" I nodded, her smile grew slightly. "And my mum?"

"Will be going back to your step-father once she's checked you are okay." That seemed to please her.

"I don't think we'll have any problem convincing Charlie to let me stay, as long as your sister doesn't mind helping me out a bit." She bit her lip nervously at that.

"I won't mind helping you at all Bella!" Alice chirped from the doorway. I didn't even know she was standing there and from the surprised look on Bella's face she didn't either. "We're friends, best friends in fact and as I'm female it will be much less awkward if I was to help you rather than your father."

"Help you with what?" I asked.

"Help me get in and out of the bath."

"You know I could always help you with that." She blushed bright red and smiled slightly.

"Don't tempt me." I smiled straight back thinking I was definitely making some ground here.

"Okay if you two are done flirting I can go and get your parents. They wanted to see you when you woke up." Bella blushed again and nodded.

"I'm glad you're okay." I whispered when we were alone.

"Me too." She smiled softly. "Thanks for getting to me in time."

"I didn't get to you in time. If I had you wouldn't be lying here." I was still pissed as hell that I hadn't made sure Bella was safe. She wouldn't have been hurt if it wasn't for me.

"Edward you did get there in time. I could have fought James off but not for long. If he had found me in that cupboard I would have just given up and he would have…well he would have-"

"You don't need to think about that now."

"But what if he tries it again? As long as I'm around and he hasn't had his way with me then I'll still be at risk." I kissed her cheek, soaking up the tears that were streaming down her face. I don't think she knew that she was crying.

"We don't need to worry about James anymore." I told her, remembering what I had been told earlier.

"Why? What happened? Did you hurt him?"

"Yes I hurt him, of course I did. When my parents took you to the hospital I went back to the dance studio where Alice and Emmett were. Emmett and I messed him about a bit for hurting you and Rose. Emmett's wanted to do that for a long time."

"Oh god please tell me you didn't kill him?! I couldn't have you being arrested for murder-" She said quickly, clutching at my shirt.

"No. No. We didn't kill him; we just beat him about then left."

"So what happened to your face and arms?"

"One of his friends turned up when I was leaving. They must have been called by him as the school was deserted when we were there. Obviously they saw me driving away and decided to take some revenge. But it's nothing."

"So James is still out there and his friends are after you all too?" That seemed to worry her more.

"No James is no longer around."

"Why? Edward what's going on?" She gently ran her hand down my cheek and looked at me with such care I just gave into her request.

"He was high when he attacked you that much we could tell from his pupils. He was found dead this morning by his parents. He took an overdose of drugs, completely irrelevant to what happened to him."

"So he's…dead?" I nodded and she pulled me into a hug, one I was surprised for. "I know I shouldn't be relieved that someone has just died but I was terrified he was going to hurt you or someone else."

"Don't worry Bella, I'm happy the bastards dead and Emmett's so happy he wants to throw a party." I told her as I hugged her comfortingly. Alice's loud voice could be heard just outside the door, she was giving us a heads up, so Bella and I separated and I moved away to give room for her parents.

Her mother rushed in the second the door was open and clasped Bella to her as she told her how much she was worried and hoped everything was okay. She also scolded Bella for being so clumsy and causing us any problems. My parents happily stood up for her and explained that it was no trouble, which Bella seemed grateful for.

My family left the room to give them some time together and I was about to follow before Bella caught my eye and mouthed 'stay, please'. I didn't want to leave her but looked apprehensively at her parents who caught the silent interaction between us. Her mother said it was okay for me to stay, if that's what Bella wanted, but Charlie didn't seem pleased, though he stayed silent.

I sat at the stood at the back of the room like a statue, not wanting to impose, but no matter how silent or still I was Charlie kept shooting me glares. Obviously he wasn't happy with me being present and I wouldn't have stayed if it wasn't for the pleading look Bella sent me. I can't deny her anything with that look.

He parents asked how she was and how she was finding the exchange. This accident gave them a chance to check in on her and see if she was enjoying herself. Then they brought up what'll happen next.

"Hopefully we can get you out of here today then collect your stuff and have you settled back home by dinner time." Renee declared.

"Collect my stuff?" Bella asked frowning.

"Yes your belongings from the Cullen's house. We're taking you home, back to Charlie's." Her father smiled slightly at that, yeah it's definite, he hates me.

"But why? I want to finish the exchange."

"Bella honey, you are in no fit state to stay and we couldn't ask the Cullens to look after you, that's our job."

"But how is this even going to work? We don't have a bedroom I can use downstairs." Bella pointed out. Her parents still seemed set on taking her though.

"Bells, I'll work something out and we'll get it sorted." Charlie said, patting her hand.

"Mum are you going to be staying with us?"

"No I'm going back to Phil; I just had to make sure you were okay." Renee said.

"Then who's going to help me?" This would be the decider.

"I will." Charlie said proudly, obviously missing some of the help Bella would require.

"No, I think you misunderstood me. Who will help me shower, wash etc? I can't do it by myself." Charlie paled at that thought.

"Oh we never thought of that." Renee said softly, deep in thought.

"If it's any help to you we would be very happy to have Bella stay and finish out the exchange. We have bedrooms downstairs she could use, so she wouldn't have to go up all those stairs, and my sister could help with the bathing predicament." I said straightening up as they both took me in. Charlie glared and seemed to puff out his chest in defiance to what I was saying. He opened his mouth to speak but Renee broke him off.

"Are you sure that would be no bother? Have you spoken to your parents?"

"It would be no bother at all and we would be happy to help since it was our stairs she fell down. Also my parents would be more than happy for Bella to say, you can speak to them if you like." Renee nodded and pulled Charlie out the room to see them, leaving Bella and I alone.

"Do you think they will go for it?" She asked nervously, biting her lip.

"Yep, they can be pretty persuasive." She almost brought me to my knees with her smile. I loved it and I wanted to spend every moment possible making her smile like that.

"Edward." I sat on the bed next to her and kissed her cheek. "Thank you for helping me stay."

"You're very welcome." To be honest I couldn't have let her leave. I would have done everything possible to convince her parents to let her stay. I was not ready to say goodbye to her yet.

Slowly I pulled her against me, into a hug, and kissed her hair. I never wanted to let her go and as selfish as that was I don't think I could survive without her.

**June 5th**

**1 Month Left**

_Edward's POV_

Once Bella was back home she spent about three weeks recuperating somewhat. Bella still had the cast on but the doctor thought it would be healed in five weeks instead of the normal six to eight, as it was such a clean break, surprisingly.

All of her things were moved downstairs to the spare bedroom set up there so that she could wouldn't have to go up all the stairs on those crutches, no doubt we would be back at the emergency room if she did.

I was hoping that, apart from the physical injuries and reminders, she would just be able to forget what happened. Though I wasn't to be so lucky, and neither was she. Every night since it happened she has had nightmares and woken up in distress.

The first night it happened I was just getting a glass of water from the kitchen and overheard her struggling and calling out. She was calling out my name and asking James to stop. I couldn't bear listening to it so rushed into her room and crawled into bed with her.

She woke up crying and upset so I did my best to calm her down and help her get back to sleep. The following night I lay outside her bedroom door waiting for the nightmares to start before doing what I did the previous night.

I've been doing that every night since then. It distresses me to know that even though he's never going to hurt her he still can in her dreams and there's nothing I can do about it.

In the three weeks since the accident Bella has been spending a lot of time with Alice and Rose. The only time we actually spend time together are at night and we don't speak, I just comfort her.

To distract myself from being around her so much I spent a lot of time with Emmett and Jasper. We all still felt very protective of the girls since two of James' friends were pissed about what happened. One, Laurent, didn't really want to kick up a fuss but the other, Victoria, was not happy and seemed to have a personal vendetta against us.

One thing we decided to do as a group was burn the tape. I watched it with Emmett and Jasper, the girls didn't want to watch it, and after seeing it, if James wasn't dead already we were going to kill him.

Not only did he bring up what he did to Rose he mentioned a few things about her and her body that had Emmett shaking with rage. Then he started on Alice, insisting she was being next, he wanted to know how bouncy she really was. Jasper was fuming and we were all thinking the same thing.

Then my precious Bella was brought under the microscope. He explained what he was going to do to her, how he was going to do it and what he'd be thinking about whilst doing it. I wanted to murder him, with a very slow and painful method, too bad the drugs did my job for me.

Jasper, Emmett and I set out one afternoon to one of the back fields and smashed it on the ground before spilling Vodka over it and lighting it with a match. It was sort of like a farewell to the sadistic twat, we knew we weren't going to have to deal with him again and that was exceedingly satisfying to know.

On this particular morning I took a jog round the grounds, it was something to take my mind off of my growing feelings for Bella. I've come to the conclusion that I'm crazy about her and one way or another she needs to know.

Alice joined me on the jog and said that we were going to have breakfast a little later today, more of like a brunch and that I should dress up a little. So when I returned to my room to shower I saw clothes placed out on my bed that Alice clearly picked out and wanted me to wear.

The brunch itself wasn't that bad, my parents were in a pleasant mood and Bella, Alice and I were having fine conversation. Not letting the unusual atmosphere between us affect our friendship in anyway.

One thing that perked up my brunch was Bella in a beautiful blue dress that was easy to put on over her cast, according to my sister who was giving fashion tips throughout the meal. The dress was casual but elegant and showed her beautiful smooth shoulders off from under her hair. Desire was running through me but it always seems to when she's around.

My parents retired early from brunch as my father had another engagement to attend to. Alice, Bella and I stayed in the dining room chatting for ages, in must have been a few hours at least, just catching up and discussing old times when we were at Bella's which felt like years ago.

Alice continued to hint about how cute we looked together and both of us avoided that topic like the plague, but I still had this undying need to tell her. Alice got up to leave us alone, hoping something would happen so I thought what the heck, why not.

"I wanted-"

"I think-" We both said at the same time, then smiled at each other.

"Sorry you go first." Bella said at the time I offered for her to speak first. We both smiled again and the air grew a little awkward as neither of us who to talk first.

"Oh for god's sake you two! Look Bella loves you Edward, and Bella, Edward loves you too. There, are you two finally going to get together before I murder each of you?!" Alice fumed from the end of the dining room with her hands on her hips.

I can't believe she just told Bella I loved her. What the hell was she thinking? Well if Bella wasn't worried about us being awkward before she certainly will be now. Sometimes I could kill that bloody pixie!

To gauge Bella's reaction to what Alice said I looked at her. She was blushing bright red and looking at her hands in her lap. Clearly she was embarrassed for me. I sighed and shook my head, covering my eyes with my hands. No doubt she's already found a reason to leave and never return.

Bella's POV

I looked at Edward when he sighed. He obviously was repulsed at the thought of me loving him. He kept shaking his head and covering his eyes. He also didn't want to look at me either by the seams of things. I always thought that he might not love me back but I certainly didn't know it would hurt this much to be rejected when we were getting on so well.

I just bet he thinks I'm some crazy gold digging stalker out to get him. I wouldn't be surprised if he avoids me at all costs and I don't see or speak to him until I have to leave. As for Alice, she's dead. I will personally string her up and kill her; it'll be catching her by surprise that will be the hard part though.

"Well aren't you two going to say something?" Alice hollered at us. Edward and I both looked at each other and opened our mouths but stammered with what to say.

"I…I have to go." He stood up and practically ran from the room. I knew he didn't love me.

"No Edward you get your ass back here now!" Alice grabbed his wrist just as he was leaving and started speaking in hush tones to him, which I couldn't hear. They seemed to be getting more aggravated with each other.

There was no way I was going to intrude on their argument but I felt guilty that this was happening because of me. Edward tired to get past Alice again but she held her hands over the door frame and raised her eyebrows as a sign to him to challenge her if he dare.

Of course he did dare.

Catching Alice and me completely off guard he picked up his pixie sister slung her over his shoulder and marched out the room with her kicking and protesting. Edward seemed totally unfazed by it. Due to all the commotion Esme came rushing out the kitchen.

"What an earth is going on? Edward put your sister down!" She demanded.

"Oh I will, just not here." He stormed out the house and marched down the garden path, Alice's screams of defiance only grew louder.

"I swear to god Edward I will destroy your precious car if you do what I think you're going to do. Don't even risk it mister! Now put me down!" He must have been ignoring her because he just kept walking.

Esme and I rushed; well I rushed as humanly possible on crutches, out of the house after them and followed behind going to see what was happening.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen this is completely unacceptable behaviour now put your sister down!" Esme called, striding to keep up with her fuming son and screeching daughter.

"No. This is punishment for interfering in other people's lives."

"Your father will hear about this and not be pleased Edward." His mother threatened.

"I wouldn't be surprised if dad could hear her screams from the office now. Alice, stop thumping me!"

"NO! PUT ME DOWN YOU MONSTER!!" She was screaming and increased her thumping and kicking causing Edward to wince a few times.

"Fine, I'll put you down." Edward called as he lobbed his sister off his shoulder and threw her small form in front of him. It wasn't until she hit the water with a splash that I realised we had basically walked the length of the grounds and were at the freezing cold river that ran through the estate.

Alice, of course, couldn't stop screaming about her new dress was ruined and how cold it was. Esme gave her son a glare before helping a weeping Alice out the water. I stood there completely mesmerised by the scene that just took place before me. Never in a million years would I have thought Edward would do that to his sister.

He turned round to go back to the house; eyes pitch black, and froze when he saw me. I wanted to say something to him but didn't know what. Instead he just shook his head again and raced past. Esme and I led Alice back to the house to change but not without hearing her curse her brother for being a twat and calling him various other names.

Within minutes of being back at the house Jasper was called to come and be the supporting boyfriend. Alice went to shower and get changed when he made his way there. The second he walked in the house Alice had jumped onto him, wrapping her arms round his neck, her legs round his waist and was snuggling her head in his chest.

"Oh Jasper it was horrible. He completely drenched me in the murky water and I was in there with all the fish and algae. It was truly terrible. Plus I'm small so any of those fish could have thought I was bait and gobbled me up." She cried whilst Jasper held her to him and patted her back reassuringly.

I never really understood their relationship before, he was so tall and quiet and she so small and loud but they worked perfectly together. He didn't need to talk to express his feelings for her; they just seemed to flow out of him.

Jasper continued to comfort Alice and made his way up the stairs with her around his waist like a small child clinging to their parent. He didn't seem to mind and was whispering calming things in her ear.

That left Esme and me both standing in the hall still a little dazed at all that had taken place. Esme, upon noticing the silence, brushed down her clothes and smiled apologetically at me.

"God what must you think of us? I am truly sorry about Edward's behaviour. Now that those two have time to calm down before I felt the need to medicate them would you care for something to eat with me?"

"Yes, thank you." I nodded and followed behind her to the kitchen. She indicated for me to sit at the kitchen counter then began to prepare some food for us. I never really thought Esme would be very hands on in the kitchen but she looked completely at home, like this was exactly what she enjoyed doing, looking after others.

Esme joined me at the counter after making a selection of different food options. She said she didn't quite know what I would like since we eat quite recently so made me a wide variety of things to pick at. For someone who doesn't spend a lot of time in the kitchen, according to Edward, she sure as hell can cook.

"So tell me Bella, how are things with you? I know it can't be easy staying with us, we do live quite a surreal life sometimes."

"It's…different to be honest with you. I didn't expect this to be easy, coming here, but the only obstacles I've met are with other students at school." I glanced down at my casted leg, which Esme caught.

"How are you coping with all of that?" She asked, referring to the James situation. For some reason I felt relaxed around her, as though I could tell her things I wouldn't dream of telling my parents.

"I guess you could say I'm doing alright. There are sometimes a few nightmares but Edward has always been there to comfort me when I woke up afterwards."

"Yes he did mention something about that. If you don't mind me asking, Bella, what are your feelings towards my son?" Obviously she didn't want to pry but was curios enough to ask.

"I…we're friends…I think." Who knows what we were at the moment?

"Just friends?" I blushed a little at past memories between me and Edward.

"We were dating but that fell apart." I smiled softly at the work top, trying to push back the feeling of regret when I think about ending the relationship.

"I know I shouldn't ask but I think you and Edward, even though it's none of my business, worked very well as a couple. I've never seen him happier, but the question is, were you happy?"

"Very." Not like it matters now, he's totally repulsed by me. "At the time he was possibly going to marry Tanya and I felt like I was holding his life back." I admitted.

"Edward always thought that he was meant to get married to a bride of his our choice and he would just follow through with the expectations his title has set for him. When he arrived back her, after spending three months with you on the exchange, he had changed, he was happy for once. Then we realised there was a relationship between you two and everything seemed to fall into place."

"Do you think he still…" I paused, biting my lip apprehensively, not sure whether I should ask or not. Perhaps I wouldn't get the answer I was hoping for.

"Go on, please." Esme said softly.

"Do you think he could forgive me?"

"Forgive you for what?"

"For ending the best relationship, the only relationship, I've ever had because I was scared." I couldn't look at her and was intently inspecting my arms folded in my lap.

"I'm sure he would but you would need to speak to Edward yourself. Will you do that?"

"I think I will have to. If I don't then I'm sure I'll regret it later on in life." Without hesitation Esme stood up and hugged me softly.

"Just do what you feel is right. Either way it doesn't matter. You are still friends with Alice and if nothing comes from you and Edward then it doesn't matter, we'll still be here for you. For some reason I feel like you've become a part of our family now."

"Thank you Esme." I said quietly as I smiled and then made my way through the house to my new ground floor bedroom.

When I hobbled into the room, knocking the door shut behind me, I was faced with Edward standing at the base of my bed looking slightly nervous.

"We need to talk Bella." He told me.

"Yes we certainly do." I agreed.

We were bound to be here a while.


	30. Chapter 30: Interruptions

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Thirty: Interruptions**

**June 5th**

**1 Month Left**

_Bella's POV_

When I hobbled into the room, knocking the door shut behind me, I was faced with Edward standing at the base of my bed looking slightly nervous.

"We need to talk Bella." He told me.

"Yes we certainly do." I agreed.

We were bound to be here a while.

He held out his hand for me so I moved forward on the crutches. Once I was standing still he picked up my hand and kissed my knuckles softly. I just wanted to wrap my arms round him, he was truly amazing.

"Bella…I…" He smiled and kissed my hand again. "I like you, a lot. I have to say this since it's been driving me crazy. I know that what we had started off as nothing serious but my feelings for you changed. It was small things like becoming nervous when you came near, anticipating the next time I would see you, how my eyes always seek you out in a room just so I could know you were okay, then it snowballed from there."

"I know that things aren't perfect and after this month we're all going off to university but I like you…I'm…I'm falling for you." He took a deep breath. "I think."

"You think?" I asked confused as he frowned.

"I think I'm still falling for you. Either that or I've already fallen for you." He nervously looked down so I decided to do what I've wanted to do for weeks. It probably was not the rational thing to do in this conversation but I just had to.

Catching Edward off guard I wrapped my arms round his neck and pulled him towards me, kissing him passionately. Edward's hands ran down my arms and ribcage before settling on my waist. He pulled me closer and ran his tongue across my bottom lip, asking for entrance which I quickly gave him access to.

Suddenly the door flung open.

"Bella have you seen Edw…Oh!"

We both jumped apart and tried to act nonchalant but we were obviously caught red handed by Alice who was smiling gleefully at us. She pointed between us.

"Are you two now…?" Her question was left hanging but we both nodded, which gained us a loud squeal.

"I knew it." She dashed out the room and we could hear her shoes against the wooded floor but then she ran back and shoved her head round the door. "About bloody time you two." Then she was off again. "Jasper! Jasper they're finally together. I told you!" He voice drifted off towards the end of the hall.

Edward turned to me slowly, looking slightly embarrassed by her. He gave me my favourite crooked smile and held his arms open which I moved into, laying my head against his chest.

"So…what did you want to talk about?" He asked, rubbing my back.

"What?" I wasn't really paying attention since I was completely intoxicated by his scent.

"I said we needed to talk when you came in and you said we certainly do. Well I've said what I wanted to say so what did you want to say?" I moved back and looked into his soft butterscotch eyes that I loved so much. Kissing him quickly I ran my fingers through his hair, missing the touch of it in so long.

"I wanted to ask if you would forgive me for ending the best relationship I've ever had." I looked into his eyes again and saw him smiling softly at me.

"Of course. I was never annoyed at you to begin with. There is nothing for me to forgive as you did nothing wrong. I understand why it ended and at the moment I don't want to dwell on the past. I want to focus on the future."

"Yeah about that…are you going to university or are you taking a gap year?" I asked as he pulled me into his embrace again.

"What are you doing?"

"At the moment I don't know. I think I'll go travelling in the summer if I have the money then go to university in autumn."

"What university are you going to?" Edward asked frowning.

"I'm not sure, I sent off applications to anywhere that might take me and all my mail is back at Charlie's."

"Did you send off applications to Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, St Andrews, London School Of Economics…any of that bunch?"

"No. Some of them were completely out of my league." Edward nodded and kissed my forehead.

"So where did you apply?"

"University of Wolverhampton, Newcastle, Abertay Dundee, Leeds, Cardiff, Warwick, Sheffield and a few others." He nodded again and went over to the desk in the corner of the room.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he shifted through the drawers.

"Looking for pen and paper."

"Why?"

"I'm going to write down the ones you applied to." He said as he jotted the list down.

"But why? If you have an opportunity to go to Oxford or Cambridge then why go to Newcastle or Warwick?"

"Because if you are going then so am I. I want to be with you Bella. I don't care what university I'm going to as long as your there."

"But Oxford, Cambridge-"

"Will be awful without you." He said, kissing my hand. "I want to be where you are and so what if I don't go to Oxford or Cambridge, I'm not bothered."

"But I am." I protested.

"Then maybe you could apply to them." I scoffed at him.

"There is no way I could afford to attend either of those universities."

"Then I'll pay the fees for you." He interjected.

"No. I won't let you. Plus they wouldn't take me anyway." I pointed out. My grades are not Oxford and Cambridge good. I also don't have the extracurricular qualities they would be looking for.

"I'm sure we could convince them." I hate to think of the money they would pay to get me in.

"And when we get there would there be a new wing of the library named after the honourable Cullens?" I raised my eyebrows at him accusingly and Edward just smirked.

"It would all be for a good cause." I groaned and leant my head against his chest.

"Promise me." I pleaded as he chuckled.

"Promise you what?"

"Promise me you won't pay to get me into a university." I looked up and saw him hesitating. "Edward." I warned.

"Fine, okay. I promise I won't pay to get you into university." I narrowed my eyes at him and he smiled brightly. "I promise." He kissed me softly, completely wiping my brain of any previous thoughts. "Convinced?"

"Mmmm." I mumbled, trying to kiss him again. After weeks of not being able to do this it was exceedingly comforting to know there was nothing stopping me now. But then I realised something and abruptly pulled away from him.

"What is it?" He asked worried.

"I love you." He grinned but looked bemused aswell so I explained. "You said you loved me and I just idiotically kissed you, not telling you how I felt. Here we've been talking about universities when I left out that big detail. I love you Edward and I'm sorry for doubting our relationship earlier." He smiled brightly and pulled me into his embrace.

"Thank you." He whispered against my forehead.

"For what?"

"For letting me finally love you and for loving me back. You have no idea how long I've waited for this." He kissed me softly and ran a hand through my hair. "You truly are the most amazing person I've ever met." I blushed at his adoring eyes and words and hid my face in the crook of his neck, kissing him gently, which gained me a small groan.

"So would you be my girlfriend again, Bella? Though this time I promise it will be an actual relationship, we're going to go on our first official date, and all that. So what do you say, be mine?"

I smiled up at him and nodded. "Absolutely." He smiled back and I lost myself in his beautiful butterscotch eyes once more.

**June 20th**

**1 week & 6 Days Left**

The cast comes off day! Finally. I've been waiting forever to get this stupid thing off; it's just been slowing me down and getting in the way. Although I really can't complain as the last few weeks have been blissful.

I have the best boyfriend ever.

Every morning he brought me breakfast in bed so I didn't have to travel. Whenever I wanted to move he would insist on carrying me although I could walk with the crutches. At night he would leave a different coloured rose on my pillow with a note attached saying how much he loved me and wanted to be with me.

Since we became an official couple, rules in the Cullen household changed a little as Charlie flipped when he found out and almost made the three hour drive here just to kick Edward's ass for 'corrupting his daughter'. Edward ended up packing a bag thinking he'd need it when he had to flee the country. I really don't know who he thinks my father is.

Anyway the rules changed so now Esme and Carlisle set the alarm system on for downstairs floor where I have been temporarily sleeping. That way if Edward tries to sneak down, like he had been doing, they would be alerted. It was one of the conditions Charlie insisted on, not allowing us to share a bed, while I stayed here.

I don't think he thought about the fact that I'm in a cast and that makes things almost completely impossible. Plus as far as I know we're not at that stage in our relationship yet. We probably would have been further if we hadn't been prevented by people walking into rooms and jumping out of cupboards. Both Emmett's doing. But who knows how things will progress from now on. Although we did discuss it before, briefly, it would be too awkward to bring up again, to find out whether we will progress to that stage in our relationship or not.

Since the hospital appointment was during school hours I was to go myself and Edward was under strict instructions not to accompany me. I was dropped off by the car the Cullen's sent for me and I made my way into the hospital. After sitting in a few waiting rooms the cast was removed and I was then taken for an x-ray to check it was healed.

Just like I hoped for my leg was perfectly fine now. It would be a little tender to use but the bone was healed. After spending three hours there I was finally able to go home, to Edward.

The second the car pulled up my door was open and I was suddenly in Edward's embrace.

"You okay?" He mumbled, kissing my forehead.

"Yeah I'm fine." I shook my leg to show it was fine and he smiled before kissing me softly.

"I'm so glad." We went inside and headed upstairs. "What do you want to do now?" Edward asked as he shut his bedroom door.

"Shower. I really want to wash that leg." He chuckled, kissed me and sent me off into the shower.

After thoroughly washing myself and drying my hair I wrapped got dressed and went back out into his room. Edward was no way to be seen so I went across the hall to my old room where he was.

"What are you doing?" I asked, coming up behind him and kissing his cheek.

"Putting your things back. I want you to move back up here, this is your room."

"Thanks." I mumbled as I wrapped my arms round his neck.

"So are you all clean now?" I nodded and snuggled closer to him as he chuckled and wrapped his arm round me further. We moved over to the bed and lay down with him lying on his side, smiling at me. "Now that you've showered what are you up for doing?"

"I don't know." I lightly kissed his exposed neck and heard him take a sharp intake of breath. Deciding I knew exactly what I wanted to do I turned and pushed him on his back. Edward looked a little shocked and opened his mouth to protest but I kissed him as I sat on his lap.

He moaned and pulled me closer. Suddenly our tongues were in a battle with each other and things were heating up quickly. I was tugging at Edward's shirt and trying to undo the buttons to get to his marvellous chest. Then he made quick work of my own.

Before I knew it I was sitting in my bra and underwear on top of Edward who was still in his jeans and shirt that was wide open. Things had moved quickly but from the seams of things they were not going to slow down anytime soon.

"Bella…are we…really ready for this?" He asked between kisses.

"Do…you not want…to?" I asked, finally pulling back and looking in his light topaz eyes.

"Are you ready for this step?" He said softly. I nodded.

"You're the only person I want to do this with. I'm ready…if you are?" He smiled lightly and gently kissed my lips.

"I'm ready."

"Are you sure you want to?" I asked now nervously. He nodded then pulled me forward so I could feel for myself how much he wanted to.

"Protection." I mumbled as Edward turned us over so he was on top. I heard him rooting around in for it.

"Edward…what's taking…so long?" I asked between kisses. He'd had his hand in the bedside drawer for at least two minutes and still no condom.

"I…can't find them." I pushed him up so he could take a proper look in the drawer. "They're not in here Bella."

"Well where are they?" I asked. Last time I checked the condoms were there.

_Edward's POV_

"I don't know. We had two boxes where was the other ones?" I asked, slightly aggravated. It should not be happening like this.

"In your room." She sighed.

"I'll be right back." As fast as I could I dashed across the hall in my shirt and jeans which I had to buckle back up.

My room was a mess with papers and books everywhere. I usually keep it clean but lately with all the work I've been doing for school things just got a little out of hand. Trying to move as quickly as possible so I didn't keep Bella waiting I shuffled everything about on my desk, looking under books and essays, opening all my drawers and rummaging through the crap I had in there, but still the box of condoms were nowhere to be found.

I dashed across the room and fell to the floor so I could check under the bed. Nothing. This is such a bloody nightmare. The only time I've ever needed a condom, me, Mr Prude himself, I can't find one. I shot back up and looked in my closet which was a useless search then decided to take one last check of the desk. I had my back to the door and was practically throwing my work around the place.

"Looking for these?" I spun round, hurting my head from moving so fast, to see my sister standing in the doorway holding a box of condoms. Okay Edward let's play this cool.

"N-n-no…I was…looking for my…pho-phone!" Alice just stood there smirking at me, clearly seeing through my lie.

"Well we'll just call it then, won't we?" She pulled her cell phone out her pocket and hit speed dial.

"You know what it's probably-" I was interrupted by the ringtone going off in my pocket "-off." I finished lamely pulling it out. "Well thanks Alice you really saved me a search." I tried to sound enthusiastic but it didn't really work.

"Great! So now that you've found your phone why not come downstairs and join Jasper, Rose, Emmett and myself. We're going to watch a movie. I'll get Bella." She started walking towards Bella's door and I practically tackled her before she touched the handle.

"NO! No you can't." Alice raised her eyebrows smirking at me.

"Why not?"

"Because Bella is out again." I couldn't have said she was asleep or some rubbish like that.

"Really, with who?" Now my brain had to think fast. I looked behind Alice, thinking of a name and just said the first thing I saw. Which happened to be a portrait of King Charles the first of England.

"Charles. She's out with Charles." Alice shot me a very quizzical look.

"Who the hell is Charles?"

"Eh..."Time to think fast Edward. "Eh…em…Charlie. Yes! Charlie her father. He wanted to see her after the hospital visit this morning." She clearly didn't buy it but as long as she didn't enter Bella's bedroom then I would not have a problem at all.

"Okay then. So it'll just be us five. Come on!" She grabbed my shirt and started pulling me down the hall towards her room. I was protesting and rather resistant without trying to give the game away.

We entered her room and she put the box of condoms on the desk. All my mind could think about was getting that box and going straight to Bella's room where she would still be waiting. God she's going to be so pissed, I thought as Alice dashed over to her cupboard and grabbed some blankets to take downstairs.

"You know what I don't think a movie night would be very good for me?" I said trying to get out of this. She turned and cocked her head to the side.

"Why?"

"I'm...well I'm not feeling too good. I feel a little sick." She looked sympathetically at me then turned to shut her cupboard door just giving me enough time to grab the condoms.

"Ah that's too bad Eddie. You go lie down and we'll check on you later." I nodded softly, trying to make it seem like I was sick and headed up the hall, condoms in hand. I was going to shut my door and sprint into Bella's before Alice could suspect anything but I didn't quite get that far.

"Hey Edward?" My sister called from the just outside her room. I turned and tried to look sickly. "You don't need condoms to sleep, do you?" She was now looking at me like I was some pervert.

"What?" I practically chocked out as she walked up the hall towards me.

"In your right hand, the condoms. I thought you were feeling unwell." She was in front of me now and I knew she could see me holding the box.

"Ha…yeah…funny thing-" I started trying to make it some sort of prank when Alice giggled and knocked on Bella's door, startling me completely.

"Bella, he's ready for you now." Alice called through then opened it and shoved me. I could hear her giggling her way down the hall shouting.

"Jasper! Rose! Emmett! You're never going to believe this!!" I put my face in my hands and slowly traipsed over to Bella.

"We can't…can we?" She asked rather deflated.

"No." I sighed, a reaction she mimicked right after. "I'm sorry." I said leaning in to kiss her. Bella gave me a very light peck on the cheek then moved off the bed.

"It's okay. We'll finish this another time." I nodded but was still rather miffed. That was definitely not how this evening should have gone. "Shall we?" She asked at the door, now fully composed.

"I guess." We left the room and headed downstairs. Our friends became silent when we entered the room and I could see them dying just to laugh about this.

"So how's Charlie, Bella?" Emmett asked sniggering along with Jasper. She furrowed her brow confused which sent Alice giggling and Rose was trying to hide her laughter.

"I'll explain later." I murmured as we took a seat on the couch together to watch the movie.

We were probably the only two watching the movie that night as the other four just sat there teasing us. Bella would blush every so often at something Emmett or Rose said but other than that she seemed rather unfazed by it. Bella left immediately after the film finished and I was just about to head up.

"Sorry Eddie." Alice said smirking. "I didn't mean to ruin your night." Liar.

"Sure." I drawled heading towards the door.

"Honestly I didn't." She was giving me her innocent look but I wasn't buying it.

"Just remember the next time you and Jasper want me to help cover for you I might not be so accommodating. Oh and Jasper remember that she is still my sister." I warned. He gulped slightly and looked a little worried to Alice who just rolled her eyes.

I never played the over protective brother when those two started dating because I couldn't see Alice dating anyone better than Jasper. They are perfect for each other and it was going to happen eventually. But that didn't mean that I couldn't go back and change my mind about their relationship. Without me those two wouldn't get away with half the things they do. Jasper should convince Alice that I'll make good on my threat if they were to interrupt my night again.

Eventually I made my way to my room and found Bella snuggled up in my covers looking adorable. She just seemed to fit in my bed like she was what should be there all the time. I undressed, leaving me in my boxers, and crawled into bed beside her, wrapping my arms around her waist. She moved a bit and repositioned herself so her head was on my chest. I looked down and kissed her forehead.

"I love you Bella. Goodnight."


	31. Chapter 31: Kidnapped

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind But Found My Heart**

**Chapter Thirty-One: Kidnapped**

**June 26th**

**1 Week Left**

_Bella's POV_

1 week. 7 days. 168 hours. 10,080 minutes. 604,800 seconds.

For the last six days Edward and I have practically been inseparable. We do nearly everything together and usually don't spend longer than an hour apart. When I leave I'll miss him terribly and every time I think of leaving I end up wrapping myself up with Edward and being there for at least five hours. The thought of being without him is a little scary and I just don't know what I'm going to do when I go.

He doesn't seem that upset with me leaving and honestly that hurts a little. I thought he would be slightly annoyed or upset that I am going in a week but he seems completely normal. At first I started casting doubts on our relationship, which Alice noticed, but then he was so adoring towards me on our first date that I knew he loved me when he said it.

Tonight he said he had something special planned for me but he wasn't telling me anything about it. I tried to pry answers out of Alice but she would just smile and shake her head, even when I offered to spend a whole two days shopping with her.

When I woke up this morning I expected to be crawled up in bed with Edward but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead there was an envelope addressed to me on his pillow. I picked it up and opened it, pulling out a piece of cream parchment.

_Dear Bella,_

_My dearest apologies that you have woken up alone. I would have loved to have been there but had important issues to take care of. Do not worry I will return to you tonight in one piece and we shall spend the remainder of our time together._

_Love Edward_

_P.S. Alice won't tell you what I have planned tonight so save your time and stop asking._

I smiled but still missed his presence here. Changing into more appropriate clothes to go walking around I headed downstairs and was greeted by Alice and Rose. Before they let me get to the kitchen to have something to eat they were dragging me outside to Emmett's jeep that was waiting and put me in the back, ignoring my protests.

They strapped me into the seat, Alice on my left and Rose on my right. I was basically tied down while Emmett drove away quickly and Jasper handed things back to Alice. I opened my mouth to ask what an Earth was going on but Alice put tape over it. Now I was really worried.

"No need to panic Bella." Alice said soothingly as though they hadn't just kidnapped me.

"MHHMH!" Was all that came out why I tried to argue back with her.

"Was the tape really necessary?" Jasper asked from the front.

"Yes. She'll whine and protest so we're going to save ourselves a headache by shutting her up." Alice said happily. I on the other hand was not so kicked her shine. "Ow! Bella that hurt."

"MMMHM!" I nodded, indicating that it was meant to as she rubbed her skin.

"Look Bella all will make sense eventually. There is really no need to struggle. We're almost there anyway." Rose said, glancing out the window.

I looked out to take in my surroundings and could barely see anything through the thick trees. We were in a massive forest by the looks of things and now I was truly confused with where they could be taking me. If we had headed in the direction of the city I would have been able to get rough ideas, like going shopping or something like that, but out here there is nothing so I haven't got a clue where I'm going.

I slumped in the backseat realising that I had no way to escape and I didn't even know what I was trying to escape from. Eventually we pulled up to another big country mansion and Emmett parked his jeep among the other throng of vehicles across the courtyard.

"Now Bella, listen carefully." Alice said as everyone turned to me. "We are all going to go in here, have a great lunch, listen to the guy talk then leave without a fuss or scene. Got me?" I nodded and she took of the tape.

"Why the hell did you tape my mouth shut?!" I cried once it was removed, momentarily forgetting about the stinging of my lips.

"To keep you quiet."

"Where are we?"

"At this house."

"Obviously but what am I doing here, why did you kidnap me and why won't I want to be here?" I asked suspiciously.

"You're here because you have to be. We kidnapped you because you wouldn't come and you won't want to be here because you're stubborn like that. Now let's go." She answered before whisking the door open and pulling us out.

Deciding it would be better just to follow through with this quietly rather than be stranded because I kicked up a fuss I made my way in with the rest of them. We were shown around the house which was bigger than the Cullens and led to the dining room for lunch, which I was grateful for as I hadn't eaten today.

We were with another twelve or so people; most I recognised from our school, and then an older couple whose house it was. I stayed silent throughout the meal, hoping to catch why I was here but nothing. Everyone was talking about summer plans, what they wanted to study at university, and other things along those lines. It wasn't until the meal was over and we were led to the drawing room where the gentleman was going to speak to us did I get why I was here.

"Congratulations." He started. "I am very pleased to see such an amazing group of students that will be joining us in the autumn. It is sad that not all students could be here but I'm sure you will meet them at a later date." I was lost but then noticed the pin he was wearing on his jacket which had a logo on it with text surrounding it. The text read: 'University of Oxford'. That's when my heart dropped.

He then went on to tell us more about what we will be experiencing at Oxford and about all the different research opportunities and extra curriculum event s we can join. I kept shooting frantic 

looks at Alice but she just smiled happily. At the moment I had a rough idea what they had done, I just wish they hadn't. Edward promised.

"Before you go there is a pack for each of you to take that will have all the information you need to know before September." With that we were excused and all of us headed for the main door where we were given our pack. Before I had time to look at it Alice had taken it from me and given it to Jasper.

They ushered me to the car quickly and pushed me into the back again. The second the doors shut and we were driving away I started firing questions at them.

"You all better explain what is going on because that guy seemed to be under the impression that I'm attending Oxford in September and I sure as hell didn't apply there!"

"Relax Bella, we took care of things. Edward said you didn't apply to Oxford so I applied on your behalf. Surprise!" She cheered.

"What?! But Alice…when…how am I even going to afford the fees? I'll have to work six jobs, and that won't even cover my living costs." I shook my head. This can't be happening.

"Nothing to worry about. We took care of it."

"How?" I asked suspiciously. How much money have they just forked out to get me into Oxford? Probably too much.

"We got you a scholarship." She said proudly.

"Eh…how?"

"Easily, you don't need to know the details. We just wanted to send you to the university you deserve."

I tried to protest more but Alice threatened to put the tape back on so I kept quiet. I'd have to speak to Edward and find out if he was involved in all this, if he was then he broke his promise to me.

I was dropped back off at the house, given my pack, then the four of them drove off. I entered the house and headed up to my room so I could investigate further into what they've done for me.

There was a pamphlet regarding the history of Oxford, several letters from members of staff and alumni, a guide leaflet showing all the buildings and departments, and other bits and pieces. Coincidently it told me nothing about the prices of anything and how things were going to be paid for. It just makes me wonder what Jasper removed when he had it.

I spent the day trying to work out what happened when I was out then fell asleep on the bed. I was awoken much later by my personal Adonis, lying next to me kissing the crook of my neck.

"Edward?" I said running my hand in his hair.

"Yeah?" He kissed me again and pulled back to look at me.

"Do you have any idea what your crazy sister did to me this morning?" He nodded softly and I playfully swatted his chest. "What?! You knew and let me go through with that. She put tape over my mouth!"

"What?! She wasn't meant to. I told her not to do anything drastic."

"But you promised that you wouldn't spend any money on me to get me into a university!" I moaned.

"I didn't Bella, I promised you so I didn't spend any money on you whatsoever."

"Then how did Oxford get to the conclusion that they should give me a scholarship?" I asked pointedly.

"They were persuaded by some famous alumni that you would be a perfect student to enrol but it would have to be on a full scholarship."

"Edward! Why?"

"Because I love you and want you to get into the best university possible." He looked down into his lap. "If you don't want to go I understand, I just wanted us to be together." He said softly, making me feel bad.

I kissed him quickly and pulled him close. "No I want to go…I want to be with you…I just…I just think it's a lot of effort for just me." He lifted my chin and kissed my lips slowly.

"It was completely worth it. You are completely worth it."

"So where were you this morning?" I asked, blushing at his comments.

"Your father's house."

"What, why?" Surely Edward would not go near my father without a damn good reason.

"I wanted to ask him if he would be okay with you attending Oxford with us next year and the living conditions."

"What are the living conditions? There was nothing about that in the pack."

"We own an apartment there with five bedrooms and three bathrooms. We're planning on staying there and we want you to join us. So will you?" I smiled and hugged him.

"Of course."

"So you're not mad at me?" I shook my head and kissed him again. "We should eat dinner. I cooked." Edward said as he ran his hands up and down my ribs. I shook my head again and pulled him down next to me, kissing him passionately.

I pulled his shirt over his head as he kissed my neck, probably leaving marks from the pressure of his kisses. He helped remove mine then quickly returned his lips to my neck, moaning as my hands ran up and down his body.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Edward asked, looking deep into my eyes. I nodded and kissed him, pulling at his belt giving him the go ahead.

* * *

I woke up to the smell of pasta and tomato sauce. Edward, who was now dressed in boxers, had brought a tray of food up. He placed the tray on the bed next to me and handed me his shirt to put on.

"This was what we were going to have for dinner, I had to reheat it."

"Thanks." He handed me a fork and we ate in relative silence, with him occasionally kissing my neck. Once we finished our food he dashed back downstairs with the tray and came up grinning ear to ear.

"What is it?" I asked as he crawled towards me on the bed.

"You look amazing in my clothes and I couldn't be more in love with you." He sighed and looked at me adoringly. "I'm going to miss you over the summer."

"I'll miss you too but remember I only live three hours away." He nodded but still looked sad.

"It's going to take some getting used to, being apart from you. At the start of this exchange I thought I was going to endure the most painful six months of my life. If someone told me six months ago that I would be in love I would have told them it's not possible and the only way that would be possible if I went crazy. Turns out I have, I have completely lost my mind but in the process I found something I didn't think I had…my heart."

"I really do love you Bella."

"I know Edward and I love you too." With that he kissed me and let me nestle against his chest where I fell asleep, completely content that everything was going to work out.


	32. Chapter 32: Promises

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind And Found My Heart**

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Promises**

**July 3rd**

**Last Day Left**

_Edward's POV_

She was leaving and I was losing my mind. I needed her here. I have no idea how I'm meant to cope with the upcoming summer without Bella around. We weren't addressing the situation though. So far this morning we had continued like nothing was special about today although she would be leaving the following morning.

Last night we spent our time eating under the stars and being in complete bliss. I was trying to make the most of our time together and Bella was not objecting. We woke up this morning with breakfast in bed, curtsey of Alice, and spent our time resting before getting up for our last day with one another.

Currently we were outside lying on the grass, Bella's head on my lap as we looked up at the clouds. She was slowly running her fingers across my arm and every so often kissing my hand while I slowly caressed her hip.

"What's going to happen?" Bella asked, turning over so her chin was resting on my chest.

"I don't know but we will work it out. You live three hours away and if I have to drive three hours to you every day and three hours back then I will. Plus it's two months or something until we're off to university. We'll speak to one another every other day and we're bound to see each other sometime." She nodded and kissed me softly.

"I'm going to miss this, miss you."

"Me too."

"You guys don't dwell on this; we're going to see each other. Anyway get off the grass and stop moping about spending your last day together. Come on, we're going to do something fun!" Alice chimed enthusiastically.

Bella looked at me with wide eyes causing me to chuckle as I helped her up, brushing the grass off of us both.

"Don't worry love; I'll make sure nothing bad happens." She nodded but didn't seem convinced.

"We are going to play hide and seek!" Alice called once we were all gathered round.

"Are you serious?" Rose asked, looking at Alice like she had just grown a second head.

"Yeah of course."

"But Alice I don't want to hide from Bella." I said as I wrapped my arms round Bella's waist to hold her tight against me.

"Fine, you two can hide together. Now let's play. Emmett you have to find everyone." With that Alice ran off as Emmett began to count down from 100.

"Come on, I know just where to hide." I said, walking across towards the house.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked warily as we walked to the top floor of the house.

"We're going to the attic." I opened the door that looked like a regular closet door and ascended up the stone stairs with Bella following behind.

"I never knew you had an attic."

"Yeah… we never really use it except for storage but it's big so we can hide in here and even if Emmett does enter he will struggle finding up."

_Bella's POV_

Edward wasn't kidding when he said it was big. It was one big room, no walls, that was a whole other floor of its own. There were neatly stacked crates down one side of the room and boxes on the other, with an old grand piano (who knows how they got that up here?) and pieces of furniture around the place.

Now when he said attic I expected some dusty room with boxes etc. but this was nothing like that. The place was spotless, not a speck of dust anywhere. The place was far too clean since nobody used it often.

"What's in the crates?" I asked as Edward moved me down the side of the room, behind a load of boxes that were roughly our height.

"Paintings and other old artefacts we couldn't have downstairs in the old wing. They're worth a lot so we can't throw them out but ugly so we don't put them up." I nodded and followed him round the boxes where there was a very comfy looking couch.

Her lay down and pulled me down with him so I was practically lying on him rather than the couch. We wouldn't be seen here, that was for sure. Emmett would have to do a complete walk around the room to find us and I'm not sure if he would look back here. If you didn't know there was a couch here then you would never look.

"I love you." Edward whispered, kissing my forehead. "And I'm going to go crazy without you." I smiled softly at him and nodded.

"I'll miss you too."

"I wish I had told you how I felt sooner. I mean we would have had so much more time together, properly, none of that friends with benefits thing we were doing."

"I know. I wish I had told you too and I'm sorry for breaking things off just before they got serious. I thought you would marry Tanya and that would have devastated me if I became too attached, even though I already had."

"I wouldn't have married her by choice Bella. I only wanted to be with you." I sighed and lay my head flat on his chest. It was going to hurt so much leaving him and I really didn't want to.

"Well I can gladly say this has been the best six months of my life." I told him honestly, looking into his butterscotch eyes and melting.

"Me too, though I do have to say you had me quite confused and very angry at different points in our relationship."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that someone like me, a Marquess shouldn't marry someone without any title etc. It's just not heard of."

"But we're not married Edward." I pointed out.

"Not yet."

"What do you mean not yet? When did I say we were getting married?" I asked loudly sitting up.

"You didn't say but I can't see us spending the rest of our lives together unmarried, especially if we were to start a family-"

"Whoa back up." I told him. "Edward I am not even ready to plan what I'm doing this summer. Please let's not jump light-years ahead of us here. The thought of marriage kinda scares me and the thought of children terrifies me, let's not go there." He smiled and kissed me but nodded.

"Okay, we won't go there now but one day we will have to." I rolled my eyes and settled back down on his chest.

"Even if I don't want to?"

"Yeah. Unless you don't want to marry me?"

"You haven't asked." I pointed out.

"Do you want me to ask?"

"No."

"Oh." I turned to him and kissed him quickly before he got the wrong idea.

"I'm not ready for marriage yet, that doesn't mean I won't be in many years to come." He nodded and I could see understanding in his eyes.

"I'm sorry; I don't mean to rush you."

"I know Edward. Don't worry about it." I kissed him again and settled on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before we heard the door open that led to the stairs up here. Edward motioned for me to stay quiet and he slowly got up from the couch, keeping me on it. I mouthed to him asking what he was doing but he just smiled crookedly as Emmett's booming footsteps came closer.

"Where are you? I know someone's in here because this is one of the best hiding places in the house. Now, come on out!" Emmett called, there was shuffling of boxes and furniture moving before I saw Edward crouch behind the wall of boxes.

Emmett was standing on the other side and couldn't see that we were here but we could see him between the spaces of the boxes. Edward grabbed a blanket that was lying a few feet away and unravelled it in his hands very slowly, trying not to make noise. Without any warning he jumped towards the boxes, throwing the blanket over Emmett who screamed like a little girl.

"Oh my God! Get it off me! Get it off me! Rose…help me!" He whined as I watched him punch the blanket in his hysterical state.

"Relax Emmett it's just a blanket, no need to get worked up." Edward said, putting his hand on Emmett's shoulder.

"You little bas-" He lunged forward, still unable to see and brought him and Edward to the floor with a crash. I looked on with wide eyes, not quite sure what to do before Alice, Jasper and Rose ran in.

Jasper and Rose came forward pulling each of them apart as Edward was laughing and Emmett looked pissed.

"That was so unfair Edward. I'm totally going to get you for that, just remember that." He stropped over to Rose and pouted at her as she rolled her eyes but kissed him anyway.

"Well I guess that games done." Alice said, inspecting the room.

"I take it you were all found." Edward said, coming over to me and pulling me into his arms.

"Yeah, we were all looking for you two." Alice spun into Jaspers arms and that's when I noticed something in her hair.

"Alice, you've got leaves in your hair." She shot a glare at Emmett who had started laughing while Jasper removed the offending leaves.

"Someone thought it would be a good idea to tackle me to the ground when they spotted me in my hiding position, though they didn't take into account I already was crouch on the ground so really I just got flattened." Jasper tried to soothe Alice as Emmett was trying to apologise through his laughter.

We headed downstairs, so Alice could properly check for any leaves, and went into the living room. We were running out of things to do so decided to watch a few movies together. About five movies later we were still all in the same positions on the couches when Esme and Carlisle walked in with pizzas for us.

Edward and I were curled up together on the three seat couch with a blanket draped over our limbs and sharing a pizza. Looking round the room I felt saddened that tomorrow I would be saying bye to everyone and this would be my last night here. I wonder if they would forget about me once I left. I mean yeah I'm going to university with them but over the summer holidays they might move on from me. Edward, who seemed to know what I was thinking, kissed my cheek and whispered into my ear.

"We will never forget you Bella; we all love you too much to do that." I smiled and kissed him before settling down again to watch the remainder of the movies Alice selected and just enjoy my last night with the Cullens.

**Leaving Day**

_Bella's POV_

Morning came far too soon. Before I knew it Edward and I were up eating breakfast with everyone in the dining hall and then my bags were being loaded in the car to take me back to Charlie's. I was trying my hardest to keep my tears at bay but it was getting every second that ticked by. I needed my Edward and leaving him was killing me.

We were all standing outside their house and I was just about to leave. The driver was waiting in the car to take me back and my bags were in the trunk. I had no reason to stay anymore.

"Go Bella I'm going to miss you so much. You have to call me and we have to meet up over the holidays. Promise me that we'll go shopping before Oxford so we can buy a whole new wardrobe to rock those Oxford boys." Alice chimed, hugging me. Jasper and Edward suddenly looked concerned and a bit wary but I just laughed it off.

"Yeah I promise." She smiled and hugged me again before Jasper came over to wish me goodbye. I said goodbye to Rose, Emmett, Esme and Carlisle before they all headed inside to give me and Edward some privacy to say goodbye to one another.

We were standing about twenty feet away from each other just staring into each other's eyes. I was holding back the tears but so close to letting them spill over.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asked softly.

"I don't want to go." He nodded and slowly walked forward, prolonging the time we had.

"I love you and wish you could stay."

"Me too. I love you so much and this is killing me, saying goodbye."

"It's not goodbye forever, thank god. That would kill me." I wrapped my arms round his neck and kissed him passionately, one last time. When I pulled away his eyes were glossed over and he groaned. "Wow."

"So you don't forget me." I whispered.

"How could I forget a kiss like that?"

"Exactly." I looked over to the car and back at Edward. "I love you and I'm already missing you. I don't want to leave but I know if I don't go know then I won't."

"That wouldn't be a problem with me." He whispered, holding me tight to his chest.

"I know but Charlie would have a problem. He already hates you as it is, let's not add another reason to his list." Edward smiled and leant his forehead against mine.

"Promise me that you'll call me. I don't care what time it is at, just call so I can hear your voice."

"I will." He nodded and pecked me on the lips before I stepped back towards the car.

The tears slowly fell down my cheeks as I nervously bit my lip and got into the backseats. The engine started and the car was driving away from the love of my life standing outside his house. Eventually I couldn't see through the tears so put my head against the cold window and let my sobs out. My phone started ringing so I answered it quickly, thinking it was Charlie asking where I was.

"Hel-lo?" I managed to get out, controlling my tears.

"Don't cry." I smiled and pushed my tears away. "We'll be together soon, I promise." I smiled at how sure he sounded. Maybe things aren't going to be as bad as I think.


	33. Epilogue

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._

**In Six Months I Lost My Mind And Found My Heart**

**Epilogue**

**September 23rd**

_Bella's POV_

I was terrified, completely terrified. All I had to do was walk about thirty steps but it was nerve racking. I continued to pace the room as Alice sighed from the couch a few feet away.

"Bella, you'll be fine! It's just walking." She asked exasperated.

"Alice what if I fall, how embarrassing would that be?" I sighed, running my hands threw my hair.

"No! Don't touch your….hair."She stood up glaring at me and pushed me into a seat. She redid my hair and held my shoulders, looking at me in the mirror. "All you have to do is to walk down the aisle. That's it. Just head towards Edward in his tux."

I rolled my eyes and stood up, slowly making my way to the door. Before I knew what was happening I was walking down the aisle in the church and heading towards Edward who looked gorgeous. I really should have been focusing on walking in these heels but I was concentrating on the crooked smile that was dazzling me on my personal Adonis. Without even realising Edward and I were walking back down the aisle together arm in arm.

"You look so beautiful." Edward murmured.

"You don't look so bad yourself." I said glancing at him. He smirked and led me out of the church to the courtyard where other guests were all gathered looking at the bride and groom.

Tanya came out looking like an angel in her wedding dress with her husband's arm entwined with hers. They looked perfect together and so happy. Surprisingly I was asked to be a bridesmaid and Edward was asked to be a groomsman so we were included in the wedding.

The wedding party was photographed at the church and in the courtyard as the guests made their way to the reception which was being held at Tanya's estate. Afterwards we went to the reception which was a grand marquis in the back garden but the back garden was about ten acres.

Before I had a chance to sit down Edward had whisked me off to the dance floor and had me wrapped in his arms, moving me across the floor.

"Two weeks." He murmured in my ear, kissing my neck.

"I know, I can't seem to forget." We were off to Oxford in two weeks for the start of university. Already this summer we had gone down with furniture and some of our belongings to the apartment. It was all starting to come together and I guess in some shape our lives were too.

Alice and Jasper were still madly in love, as are Rose and Emmett, and things with Edward and myself couldn't be better. Even though I was not impressed with him sneakily getting me into Oxford 

I am exceedingly glad that I'm going to join him there. I am still keeping in touch with my friends back home but it just seems that I fit in more with the group I met while on the exchange. It's like ever since I went on the exchange I opened a new page and closed a chapter on things back home.

Charlie was less than thrilled when Edward went to see him that morning to ask whether it would be okay for me to attend Oxford with them. He was glad I would be getting a good education but not happy that I would be in debt to Edward. He also wasn't happy with the apartment idea but came around when Alice buttered him up by saying she'd keep an eye on me.

That seemed to ease his worries but I could tell he was trying to be happy for me as I was excited that I somehow had been given the opportunity to go to Oxford and stay in a rent free apartment. Though when I found out it was rent free I was a little annoyed, they had to let me pay for something at least. It was like I was freeloading off them but Edward insisted I wasn't and Emmett said that I could cook for them and that would be how I paid my stay.

So far this summer I had spent I great deal of my times with the Cullens. My father was invited on a month long fishing trip round Britain with a few of his friends but he was nervous to leave me. Alice jumped on the idea that I would stay at theirs over the holiday and Charlie seemed to find that okay.

In that one month I had travelled more than I have in my entire life. Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rose, Edward and I all went round Europe. We started our travels in France and worked our way round, going to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Netherlands. This time I managed to convince them to let me pay for some of it but as we were staying in many of the different villa's and apartments that either one of their families owned it was hard so I mainly paid for the tips at meals, some of my own flights and the odd thing here or there.

It was a completely relaxing month and brought us closer together as friends. Edward and I also got closer, though I'm not sure if that's possible and now we know more about each other than we ever thought we would.

I love him more than I have ever loved anyone and if I was to spend even a little bit time away from him it would be exceedingly hard. So I couldn't stay mad at him for long for getting his father to call the admissions office and convince them to accept me as a scholarship student.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward said, leading me back to our table.

"Everything you've done for me, the last seven or something months that we've spent together." He smiled and pulled me onto his lap.

"Can you believe that you went from hating me to loving me?" Slowly Edward kissed me in the crook of my neck as he pronounced each word.

"Nope but then again it's not hard to get why I fell for you despite you being an absolute ass to begin with you actually have some nice qualities." He rolled his eyes then perked up a bit.

"So what do you think?" Edward said, nodding at Tanya and her husband who were speaking to a group of guests.

"I think they make a great couple and I'm exceedingly glad that she turned down the proposal you were going to have to make."

"I know. At least this way everyone's happy." I nodded and kissed his cheek, just as Alice popped up with a camera.

"Aww! That's such a cute picture you guys." She said as she pulled us from our seats, or Edward from his seat and me from his lap. "I want one of the six of us together."

Dragging us outside we saw Jasper standing with the photographer and Rose and Emmett. We were all ushered to stand together and smile. Standing with them I finally felt like I was accepted, I had finally found people that I know I will be friends with the rest of my life.

"You okay?" Edward whispered in-between shots.

"Yeah, I'm great." I smiled back at him, staring into his topaz eyes knowing that we'd make it, no matter what.

A.N.

Well that's it, all done. Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, added this to their favourites or alert list. I truly appreciate it.

Poll on profile regarding sequel.


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